February 10, 1993

FOUR ACCUSE KELLEY \ CLAIMS MOUNT AGAINST IMPRISONED PRIEST

Author: Kathleen A. Shaw; Staff Reporter, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

Four more women have told a Fitchburg lawyer they were sexually molested by the Rev. Robert E. Kelley, who is serving a prison sentence for raping a girl from Gardner.

The mother of a fifth woman said Kelley tried to molest her daughter in her presence, lawyer Robert L. Rice Jr. said yesterday.

Rice said the women, all of whom live in Central Massachusetts, do not want to be identified. Three are writing letters to the state Parole Board asking that Kelley not be released early, he said.

DIFFERENT SITES

Rice said two of the women allege they were molested by Kelley when he was serving at St. Boniface Church in Lunenburg, one alleges she was abused by Kelley at St. Cecilia's Church in Leominster, and a fourth alleges she was molested when Kelley was at Sacred Heart Church in Gardner.

Rice said Kelley tried to molest the fifth woman at an area summer camp, but "the mother was there and protected her daughter."

Kelley was sentenced in March 1990 to a prison term of five to seven years after pleading guilty in Worcester Superior Court to raping Jennifer A. Kraskouskas of Gardner, now a freshman at Northeastern University.

PAROLE HEARING

A parole hearing was held last month, but action was delayed because the board wanted more information, according to Executive Director Edward J. Dolan.

Rice said the women who have talked to him "are undecided about what to do, as they are all experiencing severe emotional problems directly related to this molestation." He advised one woman to seek counseling, he said. Another has been hospitalized repeatedly in the last four years, Rice said, and still another has been in counseling for about a year.

SEXUAL ABUSE

Kraskouskas recently told the Telegram & Gazette about sexual abuse by Kelley when she was 10 and 11 years old. She also was interviewed in a recent Arts and Entertainment network investigative report called "Sins of the Fathers," which dealt with the issue of sexual abuse of children by priests.

The other women contacted her parents, Anthony and Jacqueline Kraskouskas of Gardner, after reading about Jennifer or seeing her on television, Rice said.
Kraskouskas and some members of her family have asked the Parole Board not to release Kelley early. They have sought guarantees that if he is to be released, he not be allowed to enter Gardner or work where he has access to children.

Kelley was assigned to St. Boniface in 1974 and was transferred to St. Cecilia's Church two years later. He became pastor of Sacred Heart Church in 1983 and served until 1985. He has not been in active ministry since.

Current news