An ex-priest from Davenport is now telling a completely different story in his eastern Iowa trial on sex abuse charges. During testimony yesterday (Wednesday), former priest James Janssen admitted to abusing his nephew, but today (Thursday) Janssen denies all the charges. Janssen says he admitted to the abuse yesterday just to make his lawyer happy. “I deny before God, who could strike me dead, I didn’t never have any sex contact with that young man never (in) all his life,” Janssen said. “That’s all I can say.” Janssen says he couldn’t admit to something he didn’t do. “I think now as I come to the end of my life, whatever time is left I’ve got to be true to myself in this respect and to God and I’ll be very honest with you on that,” Janssen said. Janssen’s nephew filed a civil lawsuit against the ex-priest. James Wells of Bettendorf says his uncle sexually abused him in the 1950s and ’60s, and the abuse led to a lifetime battle with depression.
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