MILTON - An activist with ties to antiabortion violence went on trial Monday on charges of molesting a teenager at a home he ran for troubled girls and women in this Florida Panhandle city.
Six jurors and two alternates were selected for the trial of John Burt, 66, accused of improperly touching and propositioning the girl last year, when she was 15.
The alleged victim, now 16, is to testify through a satellite video link from Northern Ireland after lawyers make their opening statements today at Escambia County's court building in nearby Pensacola.
The trial will be moved there for one day because the Santa Rosa County Courthouse in Milton lacks equipment for the video hookup. The girl's father, who lives in South Florida, refused to let her return from her native land to testify in person.
Circuit Judge Ron Swanson has denied a defense request for the girl's psychological records. He has set aside four days for the trial.
Burt, who has denied the accusations, is charged with four counts of lewd and lascivious molestation and one count of lewd and lascivious conduct. Penalties for each count range from probation to 15 years in prison.
Burt ran Our Father's House. Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested him at a rest stop east of Pensacola, several days after he had been reported missing while driving a van with a "choose life" license tag.
