Testimony is expected to begin on Thursday in a case involving a suspended Roman Catholic priest charged with traveling to Honduras to have sex with poor children during missionary trips.

Jury selection in the case was completed on Wednesday in western Pennsylvania for the Rev. Joseph Maurizio Jr., who has been accused of molesting three boys and possessing child pornography, reports TRIB. Federal prosecutors in Johnstown also say that the 70-year-old priest funneled $8,000 through a charity to facilitate the trips, which ended in 2009.

Rev. Maurizio Jr. has been behind bars ever since he was arrested and jailed in September 2014. However, a new indictment filed last April brought additional charges against him involving two other boys. The indictment also accuses the Somerset County priest of illegally sending $8,000 to a charity to help facilitate the trips before they ended in 2009, reports The Associated Press.

Maurizio has denied the allegations and continues to be supported by some members of his home church, Our Lady Queen of Angels. His defense lawyer, attorney Steven Passarello, said he plans to call witnesses to challenge the allegations. He also noted that the FBI investigated the same matter in 2010, but did not pursue any charges.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Kim Gibson ruled in favor of prosecutors, allowing them to bring a psychologist who treats sexually abused children and sex offenders to the stand as an expert witness. The judge also ruled that prosecutors can call to the stand a man who claims to have been molested by Maurizio as a child, even though he's not one of the three accusers in the case.

According to prosecutors, the man's testimony demonstrates Maurizio's "persistent interest in sexual acts with minors and an ongoing desire to observe others engaging in sexually explicit conduct," reports the AP.

Maurizio has been charged with engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, which is popularly known as sexual tourism, in addition to three counts of transferring out of the country money used to promote an illegal activity.