Philadelphia ( CNN ) -- A judge has postponed the trial of a Philadelphia Catholic priest and a parochial school teacher , both accused of raping the same altar boy in separate incidents . The trial , scheduled to start Tuesday , was postponed due to a family emergency for a defense attorney . A new trial date could be set by the end of the week . The Rev . Charles Engelhardt , who was a priest at St. Jerome Parish in northeast Philadelphia , and Bernard Shero , a teacher at the parish 's school , have been charged with rape , indecent sexual assault and other criminal charges in the alleged assaults that occurred more than a decade ago . The accuser , dubbed `` Billy '' in a 2011 Philadelphia grand jury report , will be the key witness against the men , both of whom have pleaded not guilty to the charges . The former altar boy , now in his 20s , testified earlier this year during the landmark trial of two Philadelphia priests charged with child sexual abuse and conspiracy . It marked the first time a Catholic church leader -- in this case , Monsignor William Lynn -- has been convicted for covering up the crimes of offending priests . Billy reported to authorities in 2009 that he was sexually abused while he was in Catholic grade school by Engelhardt , Shero and another priest , Edward Avery . A grand jury determined his allegations had merit , and the priests were subsequently charged and arrested . They were among dozens of Philadelphia priests accused of sex abuse in the grand jury report . According to the grand jury 's report , Engelhardt allegedly showed Billy pornographic magazines before having him engage in oral intercourse in the sacristy , the room inside the church where a priest prepares for Mass . The alleged incident happened in 1998 when Billy was 10 . The following school year , Shero , the boy 's sixth-grade teacher at St. Jerome School , is accused of sodomizing the then 11-year-old , according to the grand jury report . Shero allegedly offered the boy a ride home and then stopped at a park . He told the boy they were `` going to have fun , '' took off his clothes , allegedly raped the boy , then made him walk the rest of the way home , the grand jury report stated . In April , Billy testified at the trial of Lynn , the first high-ranking church figure charged with child endangerment for shuffling predator priests from parish to parish , and the Rev . James Brennan , who was accused of the attempted rape of a 14-year-old altar boy . Lynn , 61 , was found guilty in June of one count of child endangerment and later sentenced to three to six years in prison . The jury was unable to bring a verdict against Brennan , who is scheduled to be retried next year before a new judge . Avery , who had been scheduled to be on trial with Lynn and Brennan , pleaded guilty after admitting he sexually assaulted Billy when he was 10 , and was sentenced to two-and-a-half to five years . In his April testimony , Billy detailed the alleged abuse at the hands of Avery when he was in the fifth grade . He also testified that the sexual assault led to a life of substance abuse , a suicide attempt and a criminal history including drug possession . He said he did not tell anyone about the abuse until 2009 , after a group therapy session for his drug use . When asked why he did n't speak out earlier , Billy said he was `` too scared . '' `` I thought that I would get into trouble and that no one would believe me , '' he told jurors in April . `` I thought I did something wrong , and , he 's a priest . '' Priests , particularly those in high-ranking positions , have an exceptional amount of power within the Catholic Church , especially in Philadelphia because of the church 's deep roots in the community . With nearly 1.5 million members , the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is one of the largest in the nation . A new archbishop has been installed to help turn around the scandal-plagued archdiocese . Judge dismisses sexual assault charges against Philadelphia priest . Philadelphia priest abuse trial 's impact on Catholic city . Two priests barred amid sexual abuse probe . Jury acquits man charged with assaulting priest he accused of molesting him .
Wednesday : The sexual assault trial for a Catholic priest and a parochial teacher has been postponed . The trial had been scheduled to start Tuesday . Both priests are accused of raping an adolescent boy more than a decade ago . The alleged victim will be the key witness .