Texas boys might testify in sex trial

District Judge Kathy Hardcastle said she intends to allow testimony from eight Texas boys at Larry Wisenbaker's trial on charges he molested 16 boys at St. Jude's Ranch in Boulder City.

But the judge said she will have to assure herself at a hearing before Wisenbaker's Sept. 7 trial that the stories of the Texas boys meet legal requirements.

Deputy District Attorney Gerald Gardner wants the jury deciding Wisenbaker's fate in the Boulder City case to hear from:

The stories of the boys all told of a person in authority who used his power, position and size to brazenly fondle or sexually assault them, even if they protested.

Of the 16 St. Jude's Ranch victims, 12 were residents there and four were Boulder City boys who were visiting.

Wisenbaker contends the boys have banded together and fabricated the allegations to get him fired because he was too strict with them.

But Gardner alleged in court documents that Wisenbaker is "a serial child molester who has been preying upon vulnerable boys in a strikingly similar manner for years."

Testimony from the Texas boys, the prosecutor said, "will reveal an overwhelming consistent pattern of sexual abuse between the incidents in Texas and the Nevada offenses."

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