This Week's USA Pervs and Pedos List > ICE arrests 12 Illegal Aliens Convicted of CSA; Pa man convicted of 13,000 charges; Lawsuit against Military Academy

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ERO New York arrests multiple sex offenders during national operation

NOVEMBER 23, 2022, NEW YORK, 

NYENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL

NEW YORK — Deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New York Field Office apprehended 12 unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of sex offenses during a nationwide enforcement effort Oct. 22 through Nov. 4. 

The law enforcement action conducted by ERO resulted in a total of 138 arrests nationally, including some who had already been ordered removed from the United States but failed to depart.

This enforcement operation was implemented to address unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of sex offenses. Cases amenable to federal criminal prosecution may be presented to the appropriate U.S. attorney’s office.

“The emotional damage inflicted by sexual perpetrators on their victims can last a lifetime,” said ERO New York Field Office Acting Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo. “The work of our officers on this operation has prevented future potential victims from such harm. This invaluable contribution to community safety should be specially valued at this time of year when families all over gather to celebrate together.”

The following people were arrested in the New York Field Office area of responsibility:

A 42-year-old citizen of Bolivia in Levittown, NY, convicted by the Nassau County Court of felony rape in the first degree.

A 27-year-old citizen of Honduras in New York, convicted by the New York County Criminal Court of felony sexual abuse in the first degree: contact with victim less than 13/defendant 21 or older.

A 56-year-old citizen of Mexico in Middletown, New York convicted by the Warwick Town Court of misdemeanor stalking in the third degree: cause person to fear injury/sex offense/kidnapping/death.

A 34-year-old citizen of Guatemala in Smithtown, New York convicted by the Suffolk County Court of rape in the third degree: victim did not consent, factor other than incapacity to consent.

A 43-year-old citizen of Haiti in Springfield Gardens, New York convicted by the Queens County Supreme Court of felony possessing sexual performance by a child.

A 39-year-old citizen of Honduras in Newburgh, New York convicted by the Supreme Court of California of felony lewd or lascivious acts with a child less than 14 years old.

A 46-year-old citizen of Mexico in Wyandanch, New York, convicted in the Circuit Court of LaSalle County of felony criminal sexual assault.

A 54-year-old citizen of Uruguay in Brentwood, New York, convicted in the Suffolk County Court of felony course of sexual conduct in the second degree: actor over 17, two or more acts on a child under 13.

A 47-year-old citizen of Canada in Spring Valley, New York, convicted in the Putnam County Court of felony promotion of an obscene sexual performance by child less than 17 years of age.

A 44-year-old citizen of Haiti in Queens Village, New York, convicted in the Queens County Supreme Court of felony rape in the second degree, promoting prostitution in the second degree, and promoting prostitution in the third degree.

A 48-year-old citizen of Guyana in Brooklyn, New York convicted in the Queens County Supreme Court of felony sexual abuse in the first degree: sexual contact with individual less than 11 years old.

A 29-year-old citizen of El Salvador in West Islip, New York, convicted in the Nassau County First District Court of misdemeanor forcible touching, sexual abuse in the third degree and acting in manner that injured a child less than 17 years of age.

ICE officers make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officials and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland.

Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Executive Office for Immigration Review. EOIR is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice and is separate from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case. ICE officers carry out removal decisions made by the federal immigration judges.

In fiscal year 2021, ERO arrested 12,025 individuals with aggravated felony convictions. Offenses associated with noncitizens arrested in FY 2021 included 1,506 homicide related offenses, 3,415 sexual assaults, 19,549 assaults, 2,717 robberies and 1,063 kidnappings.

Well done!!!

Pensylvania man convicted of 13,000 CSA charges

Mike Jones 

Nov 22, 2022 

Observer-Reporter

A Greene County man already convicted last year of molesting a young girl was found guilty Friday on thousands of counts for sexually abusing a different child over several years.

Matthew S. Perry, 44, of Monongahela, was convicted by the jury more than 13,000 separate charges following a three-day trial at the Greene County Courthouse.

State police charged him in October 2020 for the ongoing abuse of the girl dating back to 2008.

The jury convicted Perry on all felony charges that include child rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated indecent assault and corruption of a minor, along with misdemeanor counts of indecent assault of a child. It’s not known when Perry will be sentenced, although he’s been incarcerated since 2017 since his arrest.

“The true heroes here are the victims who were brave enough to face the defendant in the courtroom and tell their story to 12 jurors,” Greene County District Attorney David Russo said in a written statement. “They detailed the horrible crimes committed.”

Perry was previously convicted by a different Greene County jury last December in another case involving a different girl he abused on several occasions in 2016 and 2017. President Judge Lou Dayich sentenced him in May to serve 40 to 80 years in prison and ordered him to register as a sex offender with the state police’s Megan’s Law list for the rest of his life.

“It is unimaginable the horrifying things that human beings are capable of. Specifically in this case, where the defendant was raping a child for years,” Russo said.

Perry has been jailed since he was arrested in Morgantown, W.Va., in August 2017, nearly three months after state police filed charges in the original case. It took more than four years for Perry to go to trial after he was originally deemed incompetent to face the charges and was admitted for mental health treatment on three separate occasions at Torrance State Hospital near Blairsville.

His wife, Cheyenna Perry, 40, pleaded guilty in December 2018 to recording videos and taking photographs of a girl engaged in sexual acts, and then sending them to her husband while he was trying to evade capture in the summer of 2017. She was sentenced to serve 3½ to 7 years in state prison and ordered to register for life as a sex offender after she pleaded guilty to all charges in exchange for her cooperation in her husband’s case.

Greene Co., Pa

Lawsuit alleges past child sex abuse at St. John's Northwestern

Military Academy

Alec Johnson

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A lawsuit has been filed against St. John's Northwestern Military Academy alleging that child sex abuse was allowed to occur and that the school ignored reports of physical and sexual violence on campus.

A Chicago-based law firm has filed a lawsuit alleging child sex abuse against St. John's Northwestern Military Academy, its governing entity and an alleged abuser who was an older, senior-ranked student at the time of the alleged incidents.

Romanucci & Blandin filed the lawsuit against the academy, the St. John's Northwestern Military Academy Foundation and Pablo Gonzalez Carvajal, the firm said in an emailed news release Nov. 21. The school is now known as St. John's Northwestern Academies, according to its website.

The allegations date to the 2011-12 school year.

In its news release, Romanucci & Blandin alleges that the Delafield-based school "fostered a "Lord of the Flies” atmosphere among the student cadets, allowing and encouraging a prefect-style model of student self-governance while turning a blind eye to multiple known and reported on-campus incidents of physical and sexual violence between cadets."

The lawsuit, which the firm said was filed Nov. 10 in the federal Eastern District of Wisconsin court, "details the alleged negligent actions of the academy allowing for a then-minor plaintiff ... to suffer repeated abuse by a fellow cadet several years ago despite assurances to (the victim's) parents that the Academy would provide a safe and adequately staffed environment for their son," according to the release.

The complaint alleges violations of Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation, assault and battery among the nine counts listed, and "hopes to rectify long-held practices of the Academy that have and continue to have severe physical and psychological effects on its cadets," the release said.

“Not only did the school administration repeatedly fail to act as mandatory reporters regarding these conditions, they fostered a climate in which unlawful and unacceptable conduct was encouraged,” said Romanucci & Blandin Partner Martin D. Gould in the release. “The courage of our client to come forward regarding this abuse will help protect the future classes of the Academy by forcing them to have zero tolerance when it comes to the sexual abuse of children.” 

Online court records show the plaintiffs, listed in the complaint as John Doe, Father Doe and Mother Doe, are seeking $75 million and a jury trial. All three live in Rhode Island, records show.

In an emailed statement, St. John's Northwestern Academies said it was notified of the lawsuit and made aware of the allegations at the end of the 2011-12 school year through a Delafield Police Department investigation.

"As reported at that time, SJNA fully cooperated with authorities during their investigation. SJNA will respond to the lawsuit through the legal system", the school said in its statement. "St. John’s Northwestern Academies takes all allegations of sexual violence and assault very seriously. Our dedicated faculty and staff have been and will remain steadfast on the safety and well-being of our students and our entire community."

The Journal Sentinel has attempted to contact Carvajal and is awaiting a reply.

Online court records show that Gould and Matthew O'Neill, an attorney representing St. John's Northwestern Military Academy and its foundation, signed a document Nov. 22 agreeing to a two-week extension of the filing deadline to Dec. 16 for the school to file a response to the complaint. Those online court records also show no attorney listed for Carvajal as of the morning of Nov. 23.

Details of the complaint

According to the complaint:

During the 2011-12 school year, Carvajal was provided a master key for the younger cadets' dormitory rooms "either deliberately or by carelessness," and used the key to access other cadets' dormitory rooms, including John Doe's room. It alleges that Carvajal sexually assaulted and abused John Doe on multiple occasions and at night after the school's staff left the dormitories unmonitored.

School staff observed John Doe's changed behavior, such as "running away and hiding under his bed to avoid Carvajal but took no action to address John Doe's changed behavior or its causes," according to the complaint.

The complaint also alleges that the school failed to report Carvajal to the City of Delafield Police Department and that they allowed the misconduct to continue until Carvajal fled the country to Mexico "ahead of a police investigation of sexual assaults on campus."

John Doe also alleges that he has suffered physically, emotionally and psychologically as a result of the alleged conduct by Carvajal and the school.

John Doe also alleges that the effects and constant fear of repeated attacks created a hostile environment that caused his grades and education to suffer, which led him to withdraw from the academy.

Previous lawsuits have been filed against the school

There have been previous instances of the school being the target of lawsuits.

In 2018 in federal court and again in 2019 in Waukesha County Circuit Court, a Florida couple filed a lawsuit against the school claiming their then-12-year-old son was sexually assaulted by an older cadet at a summer camp session at the school in 2012. The federal case was dismissed in January 2019. In May, the Waukesha County Circuit Court case was dismissed, according to online court records.

In 1999, parents in Illinois filed a lawsuit against the school in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging that cadets "were subjected to beatings by other cadets, hazings and verbal assaults," and that gambling and drug use were allowed to occur on school grounds. Online court records appear to show the case worked its way to the federal courts before eventually being dismissed.

Cardinals Falling, Sisters of Mercy Horror Stories on Today's Catholic PnP List

Pope removes three from council of cardinals, including two in child abuse scandals

By Ed Adamczyk

(UPI) -- Pope Francis removed two cardinals, each involved in sexual abuse scandals, from his advisory council, the Vatican announced Wednesday.

The nine-person council, known as the C9, guides the pope on matters critical to the Catholic Church's future. Termination of services of Australia's Cardinal George Pell and Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz, the former archbishop of Santiago, Chile, were announced, as well as that of Cardinal Laurent Monswegngo Pasinya of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Pasinya is 79 and has not attended recent council meetings.

Pell, who is also the chief of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, faces charges of "historical child sexual offenses" in court proceedings that are under a gag order in Melbourne, Australia. News coverage has been blocked to avoid its influence on juries, until the trials end, likely in 2019. Errázuriz has been accused of covering up abuse of minors by former priest Fernando Karadima, and at 85, submitted his resignation from the council in May. Errazuriz is also the plaintiff in civil litigation in Chile.

Pell was given a leave of absence from his financial post to defend himself against the charges in his home country.

During a meeting of the C9 this week in the Vatican, the pope was asked to consider the "work, structure and composition of the council, taking into account the advanced age of some members." Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said on Wednesday that the pope had followed the cardinals' advice.

The three cardinals were sent a letter in October by the pope, to "thank them for the work they have done in these five years. Given the phase of the Council's work, the appointment of new members is not expected at present," Burke wrote on Wednesday in a statement on the convention.

During a visit to Chile in January, the pope defended the country's bishops against accusations of hiding abuse, remarks that angered sex abuse victims and their supporters. He later changed his position, sending his top sex abuse investigator to Chile. At a special meeting in Rome attended by all Chilean bishops, he accused them of mishandling child sexual abuse accounts. They all offered their resignations.

Cardinal George Pell convicted on child sex abuse
related charges

By Clyde Hughes

(UPI) -- Cardinal George Pell, one of Pope Francis' closest advisers, has been convicted in an Australian court on five counts related to the abuse of two choirboys in 1996.

Pell, 77, currently on a leave from his post as the Vatican's economy secretary, was charged last year for "historical sexual assault offenses" by Australian police.

Tuesday, he was found guilty on the charges in a Melbourne court. The conviction was the result of a retrial for Pell, after a first jury in September couldn't reach a verdict for the former archbishop. The verdict makes him the highest-ranking Vatican official to face such a conviction.

Australian news media have been barred by a judge from reporting on the details of Pell's trial, fearing prejudice. Several outlets, including America magazine, reported the verdict. The Catholic News Agency, citing a source close to Pell, reported he was convicted Tuesday.

Pell was released on bail after his conviction. He will be sentenced in February. The clergyman is scheduled to face a second trial in early next year involving a different incident, possibly in February or March.

Wednesday, Pope Francis removed Pell from the Vatican's Council of Cardinals, but it wasn't clear if he still holds his economy secretary's post.

Two other members of the pope's council, retired archbishop Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, 79, and Chile's Francisco Errázuriz Ossa, 85, also were removed from the group. Ossa has been blamed for hiding abuse while serving as archbishop of Santiago.

Pope Francis had named Pell to the council, or Council of Cardinals, in 2013. Before that, he served as archbishop of Melbourne from 1996 to 2001 and Archbishop of Sydney from 2001 until moving to the Vatican in 2014.

2 suspended Buffalo priests returned to ministry;

2 others remain on leave

By Jay Tokasz 

Two Buffalo, NY area priests were returned to active ministry Friday after a diocese investigation cleared them of child sexual abuse allegations, while allegations against two other priests were upheld and sent to the Vatican for further review.

The Rev. Roy Herberger and Monsignor Frederick R. Leising have been returned to active ministry, the diocese announced late Friday in a news release.

The Rev. Fabian J. Maryanski and the Rev. Mark J. Wolski will remain on administrative leave as the Vatican office known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reviews the diocese’s investigation into complaints of sex abuse against them.

Bishop Richard J. Malone made the determinations after considering the reports of investigator Scott F. Riordan and the recommendations of the Diocesan Review Board, a group of lay Catholic professionals appointed to examine and weigh abuse allegations.

Catholic Diocese in Alabama releases list

of priests accused of child sex abuse

WVTM 13 Digital

Danny Malloy, victim of pedophile priest    video 1:36

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
The Catholic Diocese of Birmingham today released the names of priests accused of sexual abuse of minors.

Bishop Robert J. Baker shared the following statement in a release:

"Today I am providing information about accusations of clergy sexual abuse of minors. The credibility of the accusations is either the result of an admission by the former priest, substantial evidence that we have gathered, or an independent investigation that substantiated the claims.

"The priests named were ministering in this diocese when they committed these deplorable acts. What they did, not only to the victims themselves but their families and friends, is inexcusable. In so many ways it has injured the very foundation of our Church family. Although there is nothing that one can say to right these wrongs, please know that we have spent a great deal of time and effort to see that such situations will not happen again. It is with heartfelt sorrow that I ask forgiveness of all the victims of these terrible crimes and of their family members who suffered as well.

"I want to take this opportunity to let you know what our diocese has been doing these past years in order to protect those most vulnerable."

Baker said none of the clergy listed below are in service anywhere.

PRIESTS ACCUSED OF SEX ABUSE

Charles V. Cross (Deceased)
Ordained in 1960 (Mobile-Birmingham); served from 1969 in the new Diocese of Birmingham; removed from ministry in 1985; forced to retire without priveleges in 2002

John "Jack" Ventura
Ordained in 1968 (Patterson, New Jersey); 1974 Incardinated in Diocese of Birmingham; removed from ministry after allegations received in 1985

Charles Bordenca (Deceased)
Ordained in 1955 (Mobile-Birmingham); served from 1969 in the new Diocese of Birmingham; removed from active ministry in this diocese in 1989

Kevin Cooke
Ordained in 1978; removed from ministry in 2002

Jonathan "John" Franklin (Deceased)
Ordained in 1956 (Louisiana); rRemoved from ministry: mid-1980s

Roger Lott (Deceased)
Ordained in 1954 (Mobile-Birmingham); removed from ministry in 1997

"We will not tolerate such sexual abuse. We condemn it," Bishop Baker said. "We will continue to remain vigilant. We invite those who wish to participate in any of our programs to contact us. Your help will be greatly appreciated. Finally, we will continue to pray for all those affected in any way. We pray that individuals will have the courage to come forward with their stories and seek help with the pain they may still be suffering. May God guide our efforts to protect all those committed to our care."

Baker said any suspected child abuse involving someone within the diocese is asked to contact Deacon Frank Slapikas at 205-252-3954 or general counsel at 205-776-7118.

Sisters of Mercy - a dark misnomer in New Zealand

Dunedin survivor Steve revisits the former St Joseph's Boys Home, once run by the Sisters of Mercy, in Doon St, Waverley. Photo / Craig BaxterDunedin survivor Steve revisits the former St Joseph's Boys Home, once run by the Sisters of Mercy, in Doon St, Waverley. Photo / Craig Baxter

Otago Daily Times 
By: Chris Morris

A Dunedin boy dumped at a Catholic orphanage by his father endured five days of violence at the hands of the Sisters of Mercy. Half a century later, he is still searching for answers. Chris Morris reports.

Age is slowly catching up with the old Catholic orphanage overlooking Otago Harbour.

Paint peels from doors, rust creeps across a warped iron roof and weeds sprout from cracks in a concrete courtyard, ignored by the tenants now occupying flats inside what was once St Joseph's Boys Home.

But age has not dimmed the memories for Steve, 61, as he walks around the grounds, taking in the contours of the imposing two-storey building he was once forced to call home.

He stayed for just five days more than half a century ago. But, even now, just a glimpse of the old building is enough to send a shudder through him as the memories come flooding back.

"It gets me every time I come up here," he says. "It's not my favourite place to be."

Steve was just 8 years old when he and his four younger brothers were delivered to the front door of the orphanage by their father in 1966. The boys were handed over to nuns from the Sisters of Mercy and quickly ushered inside, without a word of explanation, as their father drove away.

The next morning, when Steve's youngest brother — just 4 years old and "shell-shocked" — tried to climb a tree to escape over a fence, the violence began.

"The nuns pulled him back in and just whipped the s*** out of him with an electric jug cord."

It was the start of an ordeal for the brothers, who were crowded into an upstairs bedroom with 35 other boys, aged from infants to teenagers.

Days were spent on household chores, lessons, Bible studies and working in the farmland that once surrounded the orphanage. But physical and psychological abuse was never far away.

Steve said the violent outbursts erupted "multiple times a day" and could be triggered by the slightest infractions.

"If you were slow at doing something, you would get a whipping, and if it wasn't with an electric jug cord it was with a ruler — the old three-foot wooden ruler — or slapped around the ear, or pulled by the ears. It was just horrific ... That place was just hell on Earth for the people in there."

Initially, the nuns targeted Steve's youngest brother to try to keep the older boys in line, he said.

The St Joseph's Boys Home overlooking Otago Harbour.

But when Steve tried to intervene, the nuns shifted their attention to him. "I got double what he got. At 8 years old, you've got no real defence mechanism against that sort of thing."

Sadly, it was not a new experience for Steve, who came from a sometimes-violent family setting and had already experienced the nuns' harsh discipline at St Bernadette's School, beginning as a 5-year-old.

The school was the kind of place where the nuns forced left-handed boys to work with their right hand, which was tied behind their back, as happened to one of Steve's brothers. "Left-handed people were sinners, according to the Catholic Church."

But at the Doon St orphanage, violence was "at the forefront of everything that was going on up there", he said.

"The nuns up there were supposed to be the Sisters of Mercy, but they were anything but ... They were supposed to be the brides of Christ, but they were more like the brides of Frankenstein."

Their father finally returned five days later to collect the boys, although he was to maintain his silence about why they had been left there for decades to come.

Steve's youngest brother, in particular, was deeply traumatised. "He'd never wet the bed before going there, and afterwards it took Mum six months to get him out of wetting the bed," Steve said.

But the brothers' experience was far from unique.

The St Vincent de Paul Orphanage for Girls in South Dunedin.

The Doon St orphanage was just one part of a wider network of orphanages and children's homes run by the state and religious organisations across New Zealand, including at least 29 in Otago and Southland.

In Dunedin, two fell under the umbrella of the Sisters of Mercy — the Doon St orphanage and the St Vincent de Paul Orphanage for Girls in nearby South Dunedin.

And life at the South Dunedin orphanage could be just as brutal as at Doon St, according to former Dunedin woman Anne Frandi-Coory.

Frandi-Coory, 70, who now lives in Australia, was placed in the South Dunedin orphanage as a young child when her parents' relationship crumbled in 1949. She was there initially with her two brothers, but the boys were moved to the Doon St orphanage once they turned 5.

Frandi-Coory remained at the South Dunedin orphanage for seven long years, and recalled a life dominated by religious education, threats of God's vengeance and work — scrubbing floors, cleaning bathrooms, doing laundry and cooking in "huge kitchens". It was, she said, the life of a "virtual slave".

"We suffered from gross neglect, lack of hygiene and emotional abuse. We were never taught to clean our teeth, wash our hands, and very seldom had a bath."

And hanging over them all was a sense of dread. Corporal punishment by the nuns was common, and involved being strapped, being pulled by the hair or being locked in a cupboard "for hours".

Also common were "petty hatreds" doled out by certain nuns.

Nuns from the Sisters of Mercy in Dunedin cared for generations of children, but violence could also be a hallmark of the experience for some of their charges.

When oranges were handed out, and a young Frandi-Coory found hers to be black and rotten inside, she showed it to a nun. "Her reply was 'Well, that's your bad luck, isn't it?"'

Frandi-Coory said her abiding memory was of crying children who did not know how to smile.

The nuns had been "unfit" to care for children, and the physical, emotional and psychological torment had left her traumatised for decades, battling anxiety, nightmares and fears of abandonment.

She remained a "virtual recluse" to this day, and although counselling, education and writing a book about her experiences had all helped, the memories remained.

"I especially remember the nightmares, of burning in hell. It has taken me almost my entire lifetime to overcome the impact that spending all my formative years in a Catholic institution has wrought on me."

It is a dark past acknowledged by the leadership of Sisters of Mercy New Zealand.

Sr Sue France, in a written response to questions by ODT Insight, said the organisation accepted "that in some times and places our care of vulnerable children entrusted to us fell short".

"We feel great sadness that any child may have suffered at the hands of any of our sisters, who should have provided care and protection for children in her care."

However, she did not answer specific questions about the number of complaints received relating to the mistreatment of children, the number of payouts made as a result, or the potential for more in future.

Instead, she would only say the organisation welcomed the expanded royal commission into historical abuse, and expected the inquiry "will likely give voice to some of those we may have failed, who for whatever reason have yet to be heard".

Anne Frandi-Coory, aged 7, during her placement at St Vincent de Paul Orphanage for Girls in South Dunedin.

Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse also scrutinised the Sisters of Mercy.

It found 174 complaints of child sexual abuse — involving both nuns and non-ordained male perpetrators within the organisation — had been received by the Sisters of Mercy between 1980 and 2015.

The commission also heard evidence of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse children suffered at the Australian orphanages, and that some children were punished by the nuns after confiding in a priest about being sexually abused while in care.

Some children had even been abused by priests who would visit Sisters of Mercy orphanages despite having no "formal responsibility" for the children there.

At St Joseph's Boys Home in Dunedin, priests were also regular visitors. One of them, Steve said, was Fr Magnus Murray.

In 2003, Murray was convicted of historical sexual offences against four Dunedin boys dating back to between 1958 and 1972. He has since been implicated in further offending, including suggestions of at least 15 victims on the Taieri alone, but in the 1960s he was still a respected parish priest.

Steve told ODT Insight he never saw Murray at the orphanage, nor did he encounter sexual abuse while there.But other boys he knew from his time there, whom he remained in contact with, told a different story.

One remembered Murray as a regular visitor to the orphanage, and said he took particular interest in certain boys from his parish. "He remembered Murray coming up there and taking particular boys aside."

He also suspected the nuns' violence was motivated by "sexual frustration". "They took a vow of chastity. If they couldn't get their rocks off that way, they were getting their rocks off by hitting us."

It was just one of the threats Steve was to face, even after leaving the orphanage, as he navigated the Catholic education system in Dunedin.

As well as the violence doled out by nuns at the orphanage and St Bernadette's School, he had to endure the violent acts by Christian Brothers running St Edmund's School and St Paul's High School.

A series of brothers and teachers at both schools were later implicated in "horrendous" acts of violence and sexual abuse of pupils.

That included Br Desmond Fay, blamed for abusing one boy and driving him to suicide, and Ian Thompson, accused of abusing at least 16 boys at St Paul's before taking his own life.

Steve encountered both men but managed to avoid their sexual advances, despite Thompson trying to "more or less march me across" to his cottage for a visit one day. "I said 'No, it ain't gonna happen'."

He even escaped the attentions of Murray, despite serving as his altar boy at St Bernadette's Church in 1967, although others with him were not so lucky. "A couple of my fellow altar boys ... they were attacked by Murray," he said.

It was only decades later, with his father on his deathbed, that Steve began to confront his experiences, including unpacking the mystery of why he and his brothers had been taken to the Doon St orphanage in 1966.

His parents were both staunch Catholics, but his father had been violent towards his mother, and they were eventually convinced to go to the Holy Cross seminary in Mosgiel for marriage counselling.

And the man who convinced them to leave their children behind in the Doon St orphanage was a familiar face — Murray.

Steve eventually met Sr France, of the Sisters of Mercy NZ, in Wellington in 2015. Soon after, he received a written apology from the order for the "difficult and traumatic experience" he and his brothers had endured.

But Steve said the apology now appeared "just token, really". "It was to placate me, basically. It doesn't make me feel any more comfortable, knowing that what they did is still eating away.

"We went up there as innocents and I came out broken."

And all five brothers continued to feel the effects to this day, he said. "We're all alcoholics, broken marriages, strained relationships. I tried committing suicide when I was 20. I've only just now started seeking counselling. It has been a lifelong burden, basically."

Now, 52 years on from his experience in the orphanage, he wanted compensation from the Sisters of Mercy.

But he also wanted the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin to answer for the extent of the violence and sexual abuse that occurred under former Dunedin bishop John Kavanagh, the man in charge at the time.

The first step should be to rename Kavanagh College, as Bishop Kavanagh's inability to stamp out offending meant the buck should stop with him.

"All this happened under his watch. He was part and parcel of the whole abuse system in Dunedin."

Former St Gregory’s College dorm master convicted

of historic child sex abuse in Australia

Kayla Osborne, Illiwarra Mercury

A man who was sexually abused by his dorm master while boarding at Campbelltown’s St Gregory’s College in the 1980s has finally spoken about his lifelong struggle for justice.

Joe* was sexually assaulted by his year 8 dorm master Ross Francis Murrin over a nine-month period in 1985.

Murrin was convicted in 2010 of horrific penetrative sex crimes against Joe.

On Friday the pedophile faced Campbelltown District Court for sentencing related to historic child sex offences against a different victim.

Having [Murrin] convicted was not a silver bullet

– this is something I still have to confront every day of my life.

The former Marist brother was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a five month non-parole period for indecent assault of another young student at St Gregorys College in 1985.

5 months in prison!!! That's like a reward!

Murrin, 63, remained calm and silent as Judge O’Brien handed down his sentence.

It's a wonder he could restrain himself from jumping with joy.

Joe was in court to watch the sentencing of his abuser. He spoke to the Advertiser outside court and said he was disappointed with the outcome of the case.

“It’s devastating to see that happen – is five months all that a 12-year-old’s innocence is worth?” Joe said. “The lasting psychological effects on the victims are what the court doesn’t see.”

And, apparently, don't care about!

Joe said he was just 12 years old and a year 8 boarder at St Greogry’s when Mr Murrin began assaulting him. “When I was 38 years of age I had a nervous breakdown and was forced to see a psychologist,” he said.

“My marriage was breaking down, my businesses was suffering and I was depressed but I just couldn’t find a reason why. Due to some of my behavioural issues my therapist asked me if I had ever been abused.

“She said part of my therapy would be to confront my abuser. That’s when I decided to come forward – I wanted him charged.”

Murrin served five years in jail after he was convicted in 2010 of six counts of homosexual intercourse with Joe, one count of attempted homosexual intercourse with Joe and two counts of assault with act of indecency against Joe.

Judge O’Brien said on Friday Murrin’s latest offences were ‘less serious’ than the crimes he was jailed for in 2010.

“He has been assessed as having a low risk for re-offending and shown remorse for his conduct,” he said. “He poses little to no ongoing threat to the community.”

Joe said he knew of students who had been abused by Murrin who had attempted or committed suicide. “I suppose I am one of the lucky ones because I got some closure and [Murrin] was punished for his crimes against me,” he said.

“Having [Murrin] convicted was not a silver bullet – this is something I still have to confront every day of my life.”

Another forrner St Gregorys College dorm master, Marist brother and teacher, Graeme Mundine, 58, was also sentenced for historic sex offences in Campbelltown District Court this week.

Unfortunately, I cannot find any reports on Graeme Mundine.

Priest abuse investigation: Shredded documents,

hundreds of files seized in Houston

Most files are only identified by a last name, but among the few full names listed, at least six are priests who have been publicly accused of sexual misconduct.

Author: Jeremy Rogalski, Tina Macias, KHOU11

HOUSTON -- Bags of shredded documents, electronics and hundreds of files were among the items investigators seized from a Montgomery County treatment center as part of its sexual assault investigation into a local priest.

Listed among the items taken from the Shalom Center in Splendora in September are files for at least 200 people, according to an evidence log filed in the case and obtained by KHOU. The vast majority of the files are only identified by a last name, but among the few full names listed, at least six are priests who have been publicly accused of sexual misconduct.

It’s unclear how many of the other people listed are priests or why they were seeking treatment. The Shalom Center offers residential, sabbatical and outpatient programs for priests, deacons and male and female members of a religious order.

The center has 20 residential beds and treats more than 400 people a year, according to the Official Catholic Directory. It offers treatment for, “psychological difficulties, interpersonal conflicts, emotional or sexual problems, grief and loss issues, stress and exhaustion, transitional trauma, sexual abuse, addictions,” according to its website.

Former Conroe priest Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, who’s facing four counts of indecency with a child, was treated at the Shalom Center in 2001, and documents about the center found in La Rosa-Lopez’s bedroom reference one of his accusers, according to the search warrant.

It’s unclear which items seized at the Shalom Center are about La Rosa-Lopez, because his full name is never mentioned in the log.

But among the full names listed was at least one publicly accused priest from the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Stephen Horn. Horn was removed from ministry in 2008 after an Archdiocesan review board found allegations against him credible.

The other priests who have been publicly named for child sexual abuse or child pornography, either through lawsuits, news reports or a listing on watchdog group BishopAccountability.org are: Matthew Bagert, Diocese of Dallas; John Feminelli, Diocese of Corpus Christi; and out-of-state priests from three religious orders -- Deusdedit Mulokozi, Missionaries of the Precious Blood; Louis Perrault, Congregation of the Holy Spirit; Freddy Washington, Congregation of the Sacred Heart.

Also seized in the search was at least 16 computers and shredded documents that were found in bags in four different locations.

Everything was seized as part of the wide-reaching investigation into La Rosa-Lopez, which has also included searches of his former churches in Conroe and Richmond, along with the Archdiocesan chancery. La Rosa-Lopez faces four counts of indecency with a child.

Horror Stories from France, Australia, Ireland, USA on Today's Catholic PnP List

French priest and bishop convicted over

sexual abuse of minors

The convictions are the latest in a series of sex abuse scandals

that have rocked the Vatican

Unfortunately, it seems to have rocked them to sleep

rather than waking them up

The Vatican is under pressure following a string of abuses committed by clergy in the Americas, Australia and Europe [Stefan Wermuth/Reuters]

A French priest has been sentenced to two years in prison for sexually abusing multiple children, while his former bishop has been given a suspended sentence of eight months for failing to report the crimes.

A court in the city of Orleans in central France on Thursday handed down the verdict against the priest, Pierre de Castelet, and the retired bishop, Andre Fort.

A court official said the ruling forbids de Castelet from working as a priest or meeting with minors, puts him on a national list of sex offenders and orders him to receive psychiatric treatment.

Three victims were awarded 16,000 euros ($18,245) each in damages.

De Castelet, 69, was convicted for abusing children during a summer camp in 1993, where he touched them inappropriately while pretending to carry out medical examinations.

Both men are expected to avoid serving time behind bars, since French law allows a convict to apply for a non-custodial punishment in cases involving short jail sentences.

Well, that ought to teach them and set a terrifying precedent for future paedophile priests!!! Good grief!

Still, prosecutions of bishops are extremely rare in France, with the last case dating back to 2001 when a bishop in the town of Bayeux-Lisieux was given a three-month suspended jail term for failing to report abuse.

After the judgements, one of de Castelet's victims, Olivier Savignac, said he was satisfied with the outcome.

"We were heard. I am happy with my country," he told reporters.

Were you heard? I don't think the judge truly understood the damage that was really done. There should, at least, have been an element of deterrence in his sentencing. There wasn't!

Vatican under pressure

Predominantly Catholic France has seen priests accused of sexual abuse recently but has not faced a national scandal or reckoning like that seen in multiple countries across the world.

French Catholic clerics have also been caught in abuse scandals, according to French investigative journal, Mediapart.

In response to alleged abuse scandals, French bishops organised an "independent" panel to investigate child abuse committed by Catholic priests in early November. 

The Bishops' Conference of France said in a November 7 statement that the panel would seek "to understand the reasons which led to the way these affairs were handled" and make recommendations.

The Vatican is under pressure following a string of sexual abuse accusations against clergy in the Americas, Australia and Europe.

More than 300 "predator" priests were accused of abusing over 1,000 minors over seven decades in the US state of Pensylvania, according to a report released in August. Most of the abuse survivors were boys, the report said.

On Monday, the Catholic Church in Spain admitted that priests and other members of the clergy had sexually abused minors.

Earlier this year, all 31 Catholic bishops in Chile offered their resignation over a sex abuse cover-up scandal.

Pope Francis has called for a summit in February on the prevention of sex abuse with national Catholic Church leaders from around the world.

Sydney college priest sentenced to 12 years in jail

for historic child sex abuse

By Alice Monfries, 9news

Brother Victor Higgs was supposed to be caring for students at one of Sydney’s most prestigious schools. But, he abused his position of trust in the boarding house at the St Ignatius Riverview College when he abused six boys - aged just 12 years old - in the 1970s and 80s.

Today, aged 81 and in very poor health, he was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for his insidious crimes.

St Ignatius Riverviwe College brother Victor Higgs has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars for the historic sexual abuse of six boys, all aged 12, in the 1970s and 80s. (9NEWS)

His victims, present in court for the sentence, cheered and cried. “Let him rot in hell, let him die in there,” one told 9News. “There’s never enough years for somebody like Higgs and what he’s done, what he’s done to all of us.”

The court heard Brother Higgs would summon his victims to private locations at the school for one-on-one chats, where he would ask them to undress and perform sexual acts on them. 

A Sydney court heard Higgs would summon his victims to private locations at the school and would ask them to undress and perform sexual acts on them during one-on-one chats. (Supplied)

Five of his six victims today spoke of the life-long impacts. Many broke down as they described relationship breakdowns, alcohol abuse, post traumatic stress and psychological issues.

“He destroyed me and my life,” one said. “He is pure evil. I hope he rots in hell. In fact, hell is too good for him.”

Another said: “I hope nothing more than for him to die in jail”.

Detective Sergeant Eugene Stek today commended the victims for having the courage to share their stories in court.

"I think everyone present in that courtroom today felt the power of their testimony,” he said. “They’ve been so terribly impacted over the years. It never goes away.”

When sentencing Higgs to 12 years, with a seven-and-a-half-year non-parole period, Judge Christopher Robinson said the young boarders were “entitled to feel safe and protected... but he took advantage of them when they were isolated from their families.”

“Clearly there is no remorse, contrition or empathy for any of the victims," he said.

Prosecutor Sean Grant said Higgs' tactic was to have one-on-one talks with boarders. “But there was a sinister side to those talks,” he said. “It enabled him to identify the vulnerable.. and exploit their weaknesses. He was a fisherman in a trawler, trawling the seas for the weak and the vulnerable.”

Prosecutor Grant and the victims all say there are still questions that need to be answered, including why Higgs was transferred to the Sydney school after complaints were made about his predatory behaviour at another Jesuit school in Adelaide. 

And why he was then allowed to work in a boarding house, where he had access to young boys without supervision.

“How in God’s name can they move a predator after a complaint was made... knowing damn well he’s going to do it again,” a victim told 9News.

“It beggars belief. It’s criminal.”

Indeed, how, 'in God's Name' can they justify any of their behaviour. There was certainly nothing of God in it.

Victor Higgs will be 88 years old when he’s eligible for parole.

Diocese Of Pittsburgh Priest Accused Of

Child Sexual Abuse, Placed On Leave

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A priest in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has been placed on administrative leave after being accused of sexually abusing a minor.

The Diocese announced Saturday afternoon that Bishop David Zubik has placed 65-year-old Father Joseph Feltz on leave.

Feltz most recently served as pastor of Saint Christopher Parish in Prospect, Butler County. The Diocese says he retired from Saint Christopher Parish in October, but he remained in active ministry.

The priest is accused of sexually abusing a minor in the mid-1980s.

Feltz is among four priests named in 12 new lawsuits filed this week on behalf of victims. Feltz was not named in the grand jury report released earlier this year.

Old St Michael's Church, Elizabeth, PA

Astonishing - 300 priests named and there are more, perhaps many more.

Attorney Alan Perer is representing the victims.

“I think [the fact] that we have four new priests that were not named [in the grand jury report] there shows you that this was a broader and wider system of abuse,” Perer said. “When I talk to people like [the victim], there’s no doubt in my mind that what they tell me is true about the particular priest.”

According to the complaint, the alleged abuse happened when the victim was between the ages of 12 and 18 and attended church at St. Michael’s in Elizabeth, Pa.

The victim says Feltz was one of several priests who abused him and the abuse occurred in the rectory of the church.

According to the Diocese, Feltz has denied any wrongdoing.

So much for repentance!

Buffalo priest aimed gun at boy's head

while molesting him

By Jay Tokasz 

A deceased former Buffalo Diocese priest is accused of pointing a gun at the head of a teenage boy he was molesting in the mid-1980s.

The sexual abuses are alleged to have happened after Buffalo Diocese officials were told the Rev. Michael R. Freeman had molested other boys and young men, but kept him in ministry.

Freeman was serving as associate pastor at St. Mary parish in Lancaster in the mid-1980s when he allegedly pointed a gun at the boy to persuade him to have sexual contact.

That startling new allegation was made by the now-49-year-old man in a compensation claim submitted to a Buffalo Diocese program offering monetary settlements to victims of childhood sexual abuse.

The man also said in his claim that Freeman provided absolution of the boy’s sins immediately following the acts of abuse, according to Steve Boyd, an Amherst attorney who represents the man. Catholics believe that priests alone, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, have the power to free those who confess their sins from the spiritual consequences of those transgressions.

“This was the pattern that began, that Freeman would have this child perform oral sex on him and then absolve him of the sin afterwards,” said Boyd.

Amazing! And then who absolved the priest's sins? Did pedophile priests confess their sins to other priests or bishops? Did such priests or bishops actually absolve, or attempt to absolve, the sins of pedophile priests? Do you think child molesting priests have authority in Christ's Name to do anything? 

The priest began having sexual contact with the boy when the boy was about 14, according to Boyd.

Boyd submitted the claim for the man, who declined to be interviewed by The News but authorized Boyd to speak on his behalf. The man lives outside of Western New York, said Boyd. He is married and has children.

The man also said that Freeman, a former Buffalo police and military chaplain, regularly carried a silver-plated .38-caliber revolver, according to Boyd.

“And if the child would not participate willingly in Freeman’s sexual abuse, Freeman would jokingly threaten him with the revolver,” said Boyd. “He always carried it concealed. And several times, Freeman put the gun to the boy’s head.”

In addition, the man accused Freeman of paying a male prostitute in Toronto to have sex with them both, said Boyd.

“Freeman would take the child to Toronto with him and on one occasion Freeman paid a prostitute whose name was Scott to have sex with Freeman and the boy,” he said.

The abuse began in 1984 or 1985 and continued through the victim’s high school years, said Boyd.

Report: Diocese knew of history

Buffalo Diocese officials knew in 1981 that Freeman had a history of abuse, according to a Pennsylvania grand jury report released in August.

Edward D. Head was the bishop of Buffalo at the time. One of his top administrators was Monsignor Donald W. Trautman, who served as diocesan chancellor and vicar general and was later named auxiliary bishop in Buffalo. Trautman became bishop of the Erie Diocese in 1990.

The Buffalo Diocese did not inform the public about Freeman until March 2018, when Bishop Richard J. Malone released a list of 42 priests who had been credibly accused of sexual misconduct with minors.

The Pennsylvania grand jury, in its investigation of clergy sex abuse in six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania, included Freeman in its report because it found that the Buffalo priest had ministered in various assignments in Pennsylvania.

The report said Freeman admitted to committing sexual misconduct with minors at St. Margaret and St. Lawrence parishes in Buffalo, where he served in the early 1970s, and at other clergy assignments. He also taught at Bishop Turner High School.

“The Grand Jury found no documentation in Freeman’s file that indicated that the Dioceses of Buffalo or Erie ever notified law enforcement officials, despite the fact that Freeman admitted to sexually violating children in at least five of his six ministry assignments,” the grand jury report said.

The News sought additional information about the allegations against Freeman from the Buffalo Diocese. Diocese spokeswoman Kathy Spangler said that officials could not provide answers at the moment because Freeman's personnel file - along with the files of other priests accused of abuse - has been handed over to the state Attorney General's office in response to a subpoena.

"At some point, when it is returned to us, time frame unknown, we will be able to respond to your questions," said Spangler.

An early accuser

One of Freeman's accusers, Paul Barr of Niagara Falls, said he first notified the diocese about Freeman in the early 1980s.

Barr said in an interview with The News that Freeman molested him in 1980 in the rectory of Sacred Heart Church in Niagara Falls, and he was outraged to learn the priest later victimized someone else.

“They knew, and they just turned a blind eye. What kills me is he abused people after I reported it. I think that bothers me more than anything,” said Barr, an attorney in Niagara Falls.

Barr also filed a claim this year for compensation from the diocese. 

Barr said his abuse happened after the priest invited him to the rectory to talk about staying involved in the parish’s youth ministry program. The invitation seemed innocuous enough: Barr, who was 16 at the time, took his Catholic faith seriously and was flattered by the priest’s interest in him.

“The first thing he did was hand me a beer,” said Barr. “I didn’t even like beer, but I said to myself, ‘This is cool, I’m drinking beer with a priest.’ "

But at the meeting, Barr said, the priest told him he needed to be checked for a sports injury that could be serious if not detected early. “He said, ‘You want me to check you out, make sure you’re all right?’ ” recalled Barr, who was a high school wrestler. “He seemed to be stressing it was something that athletes got. So he was flattering me, saying, ‘You must be an athlete.’ ”

Barr said he trusted the priest. But then Freeman fondled him, he said. “It wasn’t an examination touch,” said Barr.

Barr said he reported the molestation to the Buffalo Diocese a couple years later, at the urging of a youth minister who drove him to the chancery offices. Barr didn’t recall the name of the woman to whom he gave the report.

“I don’t know if it was a nun or a social worker. I told her the story, just as I’m telling you,” he said. “She more or less thanked me for coming in. And that was it. There was no follow up or anything.”

Barr said he’s gone to counseling for years to work through the emotional impact of the abuse.

Grand jury report

A summary of Freeman’s sexual misconduct was included in the Pennsylvania grand jury report, but it’s not clear if the grand jury obtained information about Freeman from the Buffalo Diocese or from a diocese in Pennsylvania.

The report stated that Freeman was assigned to St. Christopher in Tonawanda, Pa., in 1982 and to St. Mary in Lancaster, Pa., in 1984. However, there is no Tonawanda in Pennsylvania, and Freeman is listed in Buffalo Diocese directories as assigned to St. Christopher in Tonawanda, N.Y., in 1982 and to St. Mary in Lancaster, N.Y., in 1984.

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Attorney General's Office declined to comment on the discrepancies.

Trautman, who retired in 2012 and is now bishop emeritus of Erie, said he doesn’t remember Freeman working in any parishes in the Erie Diocese.

“I think it’s a mistake. He was never a priest of the Erie Diocese,” said Trautman. “I think his crime was he brought a young boy from Jamestown into the Erie Diocese and molested him.”

Trautman was a high-ranking administrator in the Buffalo Diocese for more than 15 years prior to his appointment in 1990 as bishop of Erie. In his administrative roles in the Buffalo Diocese – he served as Head’s second-in-command for much of the 1970s and 1980s – he likely would have dealt with abuse allegations against Freeman and other priests.

But Trautman, 82, said in a telephone interview that he didn’t recall the accusations against Freeman or how the priest’s case was handled in Buffalo. “The general practice was if the priest has proven sins against him, he’s taken out of ministry,” he said.

Trautman was heavily criticized in the grand jury report for his handling of sex abuse complaints in the Erie Diocese.

But Trautman said he removed many priests from ministry and years ago handed over diocesan files on abusive priests to the Erie County (Pa.) District Attorney’s Office. He served as Erie bishop until his retirement in 2012.

“Not everything in that grand jury report is accurate,” he said. “I think there are many instances where the report is not factual.”

The grand jury report stated that Freeman’s faculties as a priest were revoked in 1989 and that the diocese continued to provide financial aid to Freeman until July 31, 1999, when he told diocese officials that he had a new job that would provide a salary and health insurance.

Freeman went on to work for the Veterans Health Administration. He was listed in 2009 as a social worker with the Canandaigua VA Medical Center in Ontario County, according to federalpay.org, a website that tracks federal employees.

He died in 2010, at age 63, in Highland Hospital in Rochester after a brief illness, according to an obituary in the Niagara Gazette.

File to DPP over former Irish scout leader

after child sex assault allegation

Barry Roche

Gardaí in Cork are to prepare a file for the DPP after releasing without charge a former scout leader who was arrested for questioning about sexually assaulting a young boy in the 1980s.

Detectives arrested the man, who is in his early 70s, shortly after 8am on Monday for questioning after they received a complaint that he sexually assaulted a young boy over 30 years ago.

The complainant, who is now in his early 40s, made a formal statement to gardaí alleging the man abused him over six year period beginning in 1983 when he was just seven and continuing until 1989.

The boy was a member of his local troop of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland and he has alleged that he was sexually assaulted by the scout leader when he was invited to his house to discuss scouting matters.

The man was arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act which allowed gardaí detain him for up to 24 hours.

The man, who is now retired from the scouts, was released without charge shortly before 7pm and gardaí will now prepare a file on the matter for the DPP, a garda spokesman confirmed.

The arrest comes just a week after Minister for Children Katherine Zappone revealed details of an internal review of child protection measures in Scouting Ireland, which was formed in 2004 following the merger of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland and the Scout Association of Ireland.

Child protection expert Ian Elliott was commissioned last year by Scouting Ireland to carry out the audit and he identified 108 historic cases of alleged child sex abuse and 71 alleged abusers.

However, Mr Elliott told an Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs that he expected the number of known victims to increase “quite considerably” as the review of past records was still ongoing.

Abuse victims were contacting the organisation at an “increasing” rate, said Mr Elliott, adding most cases related to incidents between the 1960s and 1980s, and the majority of alleged abusers were deceased.

Trial opens in case of former Massachusetts priest accused of child sex abuse in Maine

In the courtroom

BY MEGAN GRAY, Portland Press

ALFRED — The man took a sip of water from a white paper cup, and as he put it down on the witness stand in the York County courthouse, his hand was shaking.

He was the first person to testify Monday in the trial of former Boston priest Ronald Paquin, who is accused of sexually abusing two boys repeatedly on trips to Maine in the 1980s.

The man told the jury that Paquin befriended him when he was an altar boy and in religious classes at their Haverhill, Massachusetts, parish. He said the former priest took him out for meals, let him drive his car without a license and took him on trips around the country.

“He tried to be like a pal,” the man said.

He also said Paquin told dirty jokes that quickly led to sexual contact, which allegedly occurred in multiple locations including a motel and campground in Kennebunkport. He told the jury that Paquin urged him to perform masturbation and oral sex on the former priest, and Paquin also performed those acts on the boy. The abuse allegedly began when the man was as young as 12 or 13 years old and continued through his teenage years. His parents were divorced, the man said, and Paquin used that to manipulate him.

“He said no one would care for me as he does,” he told the jury.

The accuser has not been publicly identified, and the Portland Press Herald does not name alleged victims of sex crimes without their consent.

Paquin, 76, was one of the priests exposed in the early 2000s by a sweeping Boston Globe investigation into clergy sex abuse. He is now facing criminal charges in York County, and his trial this week likely is the first in Maine for a priest embroiled in the Catholic Church’s ongoing sexual abuse scandal. He has pleaded not guilty to all 31 counts against him.

During opening statements Monday, attorneys for both sides outlined the week ahead for the jurors.

Assistant District Attorney Justina McGettigan said they would hear from the two men who have accused Paquin of sexually abusing them when they were teenagers, as well as people who worked at the Kennebunkport motel and campground where the misconduct allegedly took place. She said they would describe how Paquin befriended them as altar boys, took them on trips and gave them alcohol to build their trust.

“All of this while the defendant was a religious figure in their lives,” McGettigan said.

Valerie Randall, one of two attorneys representing Paquin, alluded to the #MeToo movement that has brought to light allegations of sexual misconduct from years past, comparing them to those presented in this case. She asked the jurors to be skeptical of information that is not specific.

“Let’s call this the ‘ick’ factor,” Randall said. “When someone is accused of things like Mr. Paquin, we can be quick to make a judgment because it sounds so icky. You want to make a snap judgment about this case. So I’m going to remind you to keep an open mind today as you listen to all the evidence, as you see the witnesses here today, as you listen to their testimony, because Mr. Paquin sits here today cloaked in the presumption of innocence.”

Paquin sat flanked by his two attorneys during the first day of testimony. Wearing a gray suitcoat and black pants, he used a cane when he walked into the courtroom. The judge addressed him before the jury entered the courtroom, asking whether he had chosen to go to trial rather than accept a plea offer from the state. In a quiet voice, the former priest answered yes.

Throughout the day, the attorneys interrupted testimony nearly a dozen times for quiet conferences with the judge, especially while the accuser was on the stand. The prosecutors asked him about trips he took to Maine with Paquin. He described the motel and trailer where they stayed in Kennebunkport, and he recalled a car accident on an icy road when Paquin let him drive. The defense team questioned him about a civil suit from the early 2000s, and he said he received an $80,000 settlement from the Boston archdiocese. He became agitated when Paquin’s lawyers read specific memories from his statements during the civil case, and at one point, he needed a break from the questions.

“I’ve done a lot of work in therapy,” he said. “Maybe things have been forgotten since 2003 so I can move on with my life.”

The jurors also heard brief testimony Monday from two people whose family owned and worked at the former Beachwood Resort and the Salty Acres Campground in Kennebunkport, where Paquin kept his trailer. The final witness of the day was Kennebunkport police Detective David Breault, who investigated the case. He said there were few documents or records that still exist from the 1980s that could have helped his investigation, but he did find the report from the crash the alleged victim remembered.

The testimony did not include any evidence about Paquin’s earlier conviction. He pleaded guilty in Massachusetts in 2002 to repeatedly raping an altar boy between 1989 and 1992, beginning when the victim was 12. He was defrocked in 2004 and imprisoned until 2015, when specialists said he no longer met the criteria to be considered sexually dangerous.

The Boston Globe reported Paquin admitted to medical evaluators that he abused at least 14 boys and said he was also abused as a child. Other allegations against him have prompted civil settlements, but no other criminal convictions. In Maine, charges against Paquin and one other Catholic priest have been possible because the statute of limitations for such crimes against a child younger than 16 was eliminated in 1999, and the state Attorney General at the time said sex crimes committed against children after 1987 could be prosecuted at any time in the future.

Keith Townsend, who now lives in New Hampshire, told the Boston Globe that he was one of Paquin’s victims and that he contacted authorities in Maine after learning Paquin had been released in Massachusetts. Townsend is expected to testify later in the trial.

Paquin was indicted in February 2017 on 29 counts of gross sexual misconduct for the allegations in Maine. He was soon arrested in Boston and has been held at the York County Jail ever since. Prosecutors later added two more charges, bringing the total to 31. All are Class A or B felonies. In September, former Maine priest and Cheverus High School teacher James Talbot pleaded guilty in Cumberland County Superior Court to sexually assaulting a Freeport boy in the 1990s. Talbot, 80, was ordered to serve three years in prison. The full sentence on a charge of gross sexual assault was for 10 years, with all but three years suspended. He also received a concurrent sentence of three years for unlawful sexual contact. He had also been convicted once before in Massachusetts and served six years in prison.

Legal experts said Talbot would have faced a challenging trial in the context of the broader sex abuse scandal because jurors are not supposed to have prior knowledge of a case or past experiences that could create bias.

During jury selection for Paquin’s trial, the judge and attorneys spent hours questioning dozens of people individually about their knowledge of the church’s broader turmoil and their ability to be fair and impartial jurors. They asked potential jurors if they had seen the film “Spotlight,” which tells the story of the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into the cover-up of sexual abuse in the Boston Archdiocese. Paquin’s case was one of those mentioned in the movie. When 16 people were finally chosen to serve as jurors and alternates, Superior Court Justice Wayne Douglas included in his instructions a ban on watching “Spotlight” before or during the trial.