U.S.

Priest Indicted On Rape Charges

By Dan Collins

June 16, 2002 / 2:02 PM EDT / CBS

A central figure in the sex abuse scandal in the Boston Archdiocese was indicted Thursday on multiple counts of child rape and indecent assault for allegedly abusing four boys.

The allegations against the Rev. Paul Shanley span from 1979 to 1989, when he was at St. Jean's parish in Newton, a suburb of Boston. The indictment, the first against the retired priest, includes 10 counts of child rape and six counts of indecent assault and battery.

"In an ideal world we would not have sexual abuse of children. In a better world, adults would protect children," prosecutor Martha Coakley said.

Prosecutors said Shanley would take one of the boys, who is now 24, out of religious classes and abuse him in the rectory, the bathroom of the church and a confessional.

Shanley, 71, has been jailed since May when he was arrested and returned from California to face three counts of child rape, which were included in Thursday's indictment. He has pleaded innocent to those charges and was being held on $300,000 bail.

Donna Morrissey, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said she had not yet seen the indictment and could not comment.

Shanley became a key figure in the scandal earlier this year when the archdiocese released personnel files indicating that church officials had received complaints about Shanley dating to 1967, and that he had made comments expressing advocacy for sexual relationships between men and boys.

Cardinal Bernard Law said in a letter distributed to parishes in May that he did not become aware until 1993 of any abuse allegations against Shanley. State Attorney General Thomas Reilly has convened a grand jury to investigate whether Law and other church leaders put priests in situations where they could sexually abuse minors.

Prosecutors have refused to identify any of Shanley's alleged victims. But a source close to the case has told The Associated Press that the initial charges stem from allegations made by Paul Busa, a former Air Force security officer in Colorado.

Shanley already faces accusations from the family of Gregory Ford, 24, who claims the priest raped him repeatedly when he was a boy. Ford's family has also sued Law, accusing him of negligence in failing to protect Ford from Shanley.

Attorney Roderick MacLeish, who represents all four of the alleged victims, scheduled a news conference for later Thursday.

Nationwide, at least 250 priests have either been dismissed from their duties or resigned since the sex abuse scandal erupted in Boston early this year.

In other developments:

A southern Indiana Roman Catholic priest was placed on administrative leave because of sexual misconduct allegations. The Reverend Kenneth Graehler is a pastor at Saint Mary's in Sullivan and Saint Joan of Arc in Jasonville. Evansville Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger said Graehler has been placed on leave, but he didn't elaborate on the sexual misconduct accusations made against Graehler. Gettelfinger also suspended the Reverend Francis Schroering, who is the pastor of Saint Peter and Paul parish in Haubstadt. Schroering is accused of molesting two girls in the 1960s, but he has denied the allegations.

In Madison, Neb., the Rev. Robert Allgaier admitted using a church computer to view sexually explicit pictures of children on the Internet. Allgaier pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and the Archdiocese of Omaha has removed him from his priestly duties.

In Milwaukee, a priest was charged with sexually assaulting a teenager in 1988-89 when the priest worked at a high school. The Rev. Marvin Knighton, a consultant to the Milwaukee Archdiocese office of youth and child ministry, denied the allegations through his attorney.

Venice, Fla., Bishop John Nevins denied covering up a child sexual abuse case by paying the victim "hush money" and helping the priest flee to Ireland. Nevins said he is guilty only of "not connecting the dots" that might have alerted him sooner that the priest had allegedly molested an altar boy.

Priests from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati issued a statement asking forgiveness from abuse victims. The priests have gathered for a three-day meeting this week in Indianapolis to discuss the declining numbers of priests available for ministry.