The Latest on a church sex abuse trial in France (all times local):
10:15 a.m.
A French court has found top Catholic official Cardinal Philippe Barbarin guilty for failing to report to justice accusations against a pedophile priest.
FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2019 file photo, French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin waits for the start of his trial at the Lyon courthouse, central France. Pope. A French court on Thursday March 7, 2019 is expected to acquit a cardinal and five other defendants accused of protecting a pedophile priest, but alleged victims say France's most important church sex abuse trial has at least allowed them to bring the affair into the open. (AP PhotoLaurent Cipriani, File)
In a surprise decision Thursday in France's most important church sex abuse trial, the Lyon court handed Barbarin a six-month suspended prison sentence for not reporting the facts in the period between July 2014 and June 2015.
The Rev. Bernard Preynat's alleged victims said Barbarin and other church officials covered up for him for years, but the statute of limitations had expired on some charges and even the victims had expected that the cardinal would be acquitted.
The prosecutor had also argued against convicting, saying there were no grounds to prove legal wrongdoing.
The priest has confessed to abusing Boy Scouts in the 1970s and 80s and will be tried separately.
8:45 a.m.
A French court is expected to acquit a cardinal and five other defendants accused of protecting a pedophile priest at the end of France's most important church sex abuse trial.
The Lyon court will deliver its verdict on Thursday morning.
The Rev. Bernard Preynat's alleged victims said church hierarchy covered up for him for years. But by the time the four-day trial reached court in Lyon last January, the statute of limitations had expired on some charges.
Even the prosecutor argued against convicting Cardinal Philippe Barbarin and other church officials, saying there were no grounds to prove legal wrongdoing.
Barbarin faces up to three years in prison and fines if convicted.
The priest has confessed to abusing Boy Scouts in the 1970s and 80s and will be tried separately.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — More than four years after the shooting deaths of seven Laotian workers at an illegal marijuana farm in Southern California, authorities revealed Friday that they believe the killings were carried out by gang members and pleaded with people to come forward with any information.
Investigators believe the suspects were gang members of Laotian descent from the San Diego area. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said the agency faces a “major obstacle” obtaining information because at least some witnesses and victims entered the U.S. illegally and may have been victims of human trafficking.
Migrants who were working at the farm may fear retribution and distrust law enforcement, Bianco said. Many are from countries where law enforcement is “corrupt and further victimize the victims,” he added.
“When these immigrants come to our country, that fear of law enforcement makes them easy targets of crime because the suspects know that the victims will be reluctant to cooperate with the criminal investigation, or they may not report the crime at all. This case has been an example of that," Bianco said.
“We know there are people out there who have additional information about these murders and the identity of the suspects,” he added.
Investigators have identified a mid-size, dark-colored SUV that was believed to be used during the killings in the remote community of Aguanga, the sheriff's department said in a news release.
Bianco described the killings as a part of a “home-invasion type robbery” carried out to obtain money. He noted that a significant amount of cannabis was left behind.
Six people were found dead on the property, and a woman who was shot there died later at a hospital.
More than 20 people lived on the property, which had makeshift dwellings and a nursery. Authorities found more 1,000 marijuana plants and several hundred pounds of processed marijuana.
The state broadly legalized recreational marijuana sales in January 2018. But the illicit market continued, partly because hefty legal marijuana taxes sent consumers looking for better deals in the illegal economy.
Aguanga is a small mountainous community about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of San Diego with horse ranches along dirt roads.
FILE - Cases of bottled water are seen with other items left on the porch of a house where killings occurred related to a Marijuana growing operation in Aguanga ,Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Elliot Spagat, File)
FILE - A makeshift greenhouse is seen behind a home where killings occurred, related to a marijuana growing operations, in Aguanga, Calif. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Elliot Spagat, File )
