On October 8, the state of Maryland will put on trial a distinguished scientist. Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, winner of a Nobel prize for medicine in 1976, famed for his work with primitive New Guinea tribes, and a man whose friends describe him as “some kind of genius,” stands charged with molesting two of his adopted sons.

The case against him appears unusually strong. At the trial, prosecutors expect the older boy, now 23, to testify to persistent and unwanted sexual contact over some six years, beginning his first day in Gajdusek’s house when he was 14. They also intend to play for the jury a taped telephone conversation in which, according to court documents, Gajdusek confesses to the youth, apologizes, and begs him to lie if questioned.