Mississippi trial delayed for friar accused of sex abuse

GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP) — A trial has been postponed until April for a former Franciscan friar accused of molesting students in the 1990s at a Catholic school in Mississippi. Paul West was scheduled for trial in February.

The district attorney's website says his case was delayed so he could undergo a mental evaluation. A grand jury indicted West in August on two counts of sexual battery and two counts of gratification of lust.

If convicted, he faces life in prison.

This is the second time the case has been postponed since he pleaded innocent in September.

West also faces a charge in Wisconsin of second-degree sexual assault of a child.