May 3, 2007

Alleged victim: ‘I’m crying inside’

Like many victims in the priest sex-abuse scandal, Mike Chesnis has been suicidal, battled depression and struggled to overcome the intense trauma of having his innocence stolen allegedly at the hands of a man of the church.

“Wearing a priest uniform is automatic authority - automatic trust,” said Chesnis, speaking publicly for the first time about his alleged molestation by retired priest John Szantyr. “I feel very betrayed. Part of me hasn’t grown up yet. I’m crying inside.”

Chesnis said he lived silently with shame and humiliation for years, the seeds of which were planted in the rectory of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Worcester in 1986 and 1987, which is when, he alleges, Szantyr courted him with kindness and molested him.

“This man altered my life,” Chesnis said. “I felt shame. I was suicidal.”

Chesnis, 33, served in the military but was discharged because of mental health issues. He’s also been on disability and lived in homeless shelters. These days, he has returned to his faith and serves as a live-in church caretaker.

“I consider it a miracle that I’ve come back to faith,” he said. “I thank God that I’m still alive.”

After sex-assault charges were filed against Szantyr in 2003, several other alleged victims came forward, including Michael Hodgkins, who alleges Szantyr molested him in 1967, when he was 13.

Although Hodgkins, 54, gave prosecutors a deposition, no charges were filed because the statute of limitations had run out.

Asked why he waited so many years to file a complaint, Hodgkins said: “He was a very charismatic man. I was scared to death. Who was going to believe me? This was the ultimate holy man.”

May 3, 2007

P.I. on ex-priest’s case: Wheelchair ‘absolute farce,’ accuser says

Fed up with four years of delays in the case of an accused pedophile priest who claims he’s ill and not competent to face trial, one of the alleged victims hired a gumshoe who nabbed the supposedly debilitated holy man walking and driving on his own.

The sex-assault case against retired Worcester priest John Szantyr has been continued multiple times since 2003 - most recently last Friday - amid ongoing questions over his physical condition and mental competency.

But a private investigator hired by Michael Hodgkins, one of Szantyr’s alleged victims, spotted the priest twice last week walking without any help, driving on his own to and from church and smoking and yakking on a cell phone, a report obtained by the Herald shows.

“I really want to resolve this (case) while he’s still alive,” said another alleged victim, Mike Chesnis, who claims he was molested by Szantyr as a boy in Worcester in the mid-1980s. “I feel he needs to be exposed for who he really is.”

Szantyr’s lawyer, Ed Ryan, who is seeking to have the charges dismissed based on the doctor’s findings, downplayed the controversy.

 “The case ought to have been dismissed long ago,” Ryan said. “He’s incompetent to stand trial and whether or not he needs a wheelchair is irrelevant.”

Reached at his Connecticut home last night, Szantyr said, “I’m sorry, I’m not going to give you any information.”

A Worcester District Court judge last Friday ordered a new competency evaluation and the case was continued to Aug. 20.

“There’s nothing we can do now other than get another expert to give an opinion on his competency,” said Tim Connolly, spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early. He added that the number of continuances is “a concern.”

Attorney Wendy Murphy, an advocate for the victims, said of the dispute, “The system has to find a way so that the truth is known about this man’s condition.”

The controversy came to a head Sept. 12, 2006, when Szantyr reportedly appeared in court in a wheelchair and a doctor testified that he suffered from Parkinson’s and a neurological disorder. After the hearing, Hodgkins spotted Szantyr walking at a rest area.

 “I just thought it was an absolute farce. He sat in his wheelchair in the courtroom with his head slumped forward,” Hodgkins recalled. “They said his brother and his sister had to feed him and dress him and he had trouble getting around the house. I was so disgusted.”

Hodgkins, who claims Szantyr molested him in 1967, snapped pictures of him at the rest stop and was so infuriated that he hired a Connecticut private eye to trail the retired priest. 

Chesnis, 33, said hopes the explosive report will help him attain justice.

“I’m ready to deal with this. I’m ready to go to trial,” he said. “This man refuses to acknowledge what he’s done.”

May 4, 2007

Vatican reads Szantyr case, will they do the right thing?

May 4^th the Holy See, Vatican City reviewed photo and medical documentations that has been presented in Worcester District Court, regarding criminal charges of indecent assault on a child under 14 years, by two different alleged victims, against Fr John J. Szantyr.

Tracking records revel the Vatican viewed the photos taken in the Sturbridge rest area after the September 12, 2006 competency hearing.   

Also reviewed was the undated letter found in the court record which reveals that a continuance was granted due to the death of his beloved nephew, and the hospitalization of his sister.  According to Dr Ramon Mabasa who also identifies himself as his friend, due to these events, John Szantyr was unable to understand he was due to stand trial.

In addition the photo of John Szyantyr from 2002 which shows him healthy and standing in the Visitation, June 2002 monthly publication for the fraternity of Priest was viewed.

No communication from the Vatican in an effort to support the alleged victims’ has been received.

May 20, 2007

Fr Robert E. Kelley up for parole

Sentenced October 1, 2003, Robert Kelley is now serving a Cedar Junction sentence of 5-7 years with 20 years probation to follow his release for charges of Rape of Child – Unnatural (4 counts) and Rape of Child (2 counts).

Then Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte had said Father Kelley’s two female victims were between 6 and 10 years old during the time of the offenses.

He said the offenses occurred at various times from 1980 to 1985 while Father Kelley was a priest at St. Cecilia’s Parish in Leominster and Sacred Heart Parish in Gardner.

Father Kelley served six years of a five-to-seven-year sentence after pleading guilty in March 1990, to charges of assault with intent to rape and two counts of unnatural rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a child. His case was settled by means of a plea arrangement.

Those offenses were said to have occurred between Sept. 1, 1983, and April 1, 1985, in Gardner, where Father Kelley was pastor of Sacred Heart Parish.

In his ruling, Judge McCann wrote it is the intention of this court the defendant remain in jail until the age of sixty-five and that no petition for determination of sexual dangerousness under chapter 123A is not filed, that the strictest of control be placed be maintained over Robert Kelley by means of condition of Probation.

The Massachusetts Trial Court computer as of today does not list court action initiated in regards to a sexually dangerous petition regarding Robert Kelley  

Robert Kelley is scheduled to face the Parole Board June 2007.

May 31, 2007

Worcester District Court Tapes not available in Rev John J Szantyr case. 

Missing from the official record in the case of Rev. John J Szantyr are Worcester District court tapes that had earlier been requested by the defense.  

According to a request found in the Szantyr court file Defense Attorney Edward P. Ryan Jr., of O’Connor and Ryan of Fitchburg, on January 15, 2004 requested a tape copy of Worcester District court tape 24 dated January 13, 2004, start time 400 end 645.   

A cassette copy order form can also be located also in the court record which stated on January 20, 2004 a copy of the tape was sent United Parcel service at a cost of Fifty dollars and fifty cents.   

The tape according to the criminal court docket 0362CR005196, Commonwealth v John J Szantyr is in reference to a motion presented before Judge David P. Despotopulos.  

Motions presented by the defense included statements of complaining witness (fresh complaint), disclosure of prior and subsequent bad acts. A bill of particulars, as well as six sections in a motion for discovery, all motions were all allowed by Judge Despotopulos.  

Worcester District Court Case 0362CR005196, involves three charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.  

A second criminal complaint was issued in Worcester District Court, case 0362CR008722 involves one charge of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, regarding a young boy. Rev John Szantyr was arraignment in the second case , November 10, 2003.  

During the time of both allegations, Rev. Szantyr was a priest at Our Lady of Czestochowa parish in Worcester. 

The retired priest accused of sexually assaulting two young male parish children also requested to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he was mentally competent to stand trial during the January 13th hearing. 

A request was issued last month with Worcester District Court for a copy of this tape and according to the Worcester District Court administrators the tape cannot be located.   

According to a District Court clerk “it is highly unusual to have a criminal case remain in the District court system for a four year length of time”.

June 4, 2007

Worcester DA Joseph Early, informs former Conte Prosecutor, Joseph J. Reilly III, to pick up the pace in Szantyr trial

Published this week in a Worcester Telegram Sunday article was a general review of new measures brought about by newly elected Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. 

Within the article Worcester Telegram reporter, Shaun Sutner writes,"Mr. Early said that he recently told the assistant district attorney who Mr. Conte assigned to prosecute the case, Joseph J. Reilly III, to pick up the pace. The DA promised that it would go to trial by August".

“I said, ‘Let’s get this wrapped up,’ ” Mr. Early said. “This case has been around long enough.”

The Telegram did fail to note within the article that the retired priest, John J Szantyr is actually accused of sexually assaulting two young male parish children, while he was assigned to Our Lady of Czestochowa parish in Worcester. 

Rev. John J Szantyr was first arraigned on three charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, July 31, 2003. In the second criminal case, Rev. John J Szantyr was arraigned November 11, 2003, on one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

The actions of Assistant District Attorney Joseph J. Reilly III  in this case have been questioned by those who allege sexual assault by the former Priest.

Most notably was ADA Reilly's refusal to seek out the photos which he was notified of with one hour of the mental competency hearing and his failure to request the witnesses as well.

This news was well received by all those who have been involved in this case as well as those who alleged they were sexually assaulted by the former Priest but due to the statue of limitations can not seek criminal charges.

Many of these individuals who are now grown men have attended some of the numerous court proceedings and have planned to travel to Worcester to be present in the courtroom during the trial.

June 20, 2007

Rev. James J. Aquino, former pastor of Our Lady of Loreto Church has died.

Rev. James J. Aquino who has been living in Naples Florida has died. Details of his death have not yet been release.

June 21, 2007

WORCESTER— The Rev. James J. Aquino Jr., who stepped down as pastor of Our Lady of Loreto parish after being accused in 2004 by Las Vegas police of sexual misconduct, died Tuesday night in Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

The Rev. Aquino, a former superintendent of the area’s Catholic schools, had been suffering from cancer, according to officials with the Diocese of Worcester. He was 68.

Bishop Robert J. McManus last year accepted Rev. Aquino’s resignation from the pastorship after allegations that the priest had engaged in inappropriate behavior with an adult.

June 21, 2007

A question of competence

Is the accused priest playing dumb?

By just about every account, the sex-assault case against retired Worcester priest John Szantyr has gone on for way too long. Almost four years after the initial criminal complaints of indecent assault and battery on a child were issued, the case is no closer to a resolution, having been continued dozens of times. There are now multiple criminal and civil cases pending against Szantyr, stemming from separate alleged incidents and victims. In one case, one prominent alleged victim, Mike Chesnis, claims that he was molested in the mid-1980s when Szantyr was assigned to Our Lady of Czestochowa. Another pending criminal case dates Szantyr's alleged offenses to the same time period.

The case — aside from its heated subject matter — has also generated significant controversy over Szantyr's claims that he is incompetent and unable to stand trial. Over the past several years, Szantyr's lawyers have raised questions about his physical condition and mental competency. Szantyr has purportedly appeared in court in a wheelchair, and a 2005 letter from his primary physician stated that Szantyr "is unable to understand that he is scheduled to begin his trial next week," primarily "due to his deteriorating physical condition and his emotional and mental condition ...." The letter also cites that "Father John continues to suffer from rapidly advancing Parkinson's Disease and strokes that have had a very negative impact on his health."

And in September 2006, a psychiatric evaluation conducted under the authority of Assistant District Attorney Joseph J. Reilly III found Szantyr mentally incompetent to stand trial.

It's that determination that has raised a number of flags among Szantyr's alleged victims, local advocates, and the Worcester DA's office.

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