Published Cases


Brother Antonio Antonucci (a Roman Catholic monk) - Arraigned In Uxbridge District Court on charges of indecent assault and battery on a teenage boy. (5/22/93) Found Innocent at trial

Rev. Brion Ares – Indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on charges of rape and indecent assault and battery on a 20 year old man he was counseling. The trial ended when the judge declared a mistrial after the jury could not reach a verdict. (10/20/94)

Rev James Aquino - October 21, 2004, two undercover Las Vegas police officers, while in an Adult book store and theater, observed one Larry xxxx and Fr. James Aquino engaging in lewd conduct in a place open to the public. Both men were escorted outside. Aquino said he had no identification on him - checks were run on a fake social security number furnished by Aquino, with negative results. After a few minutes he admitted he had identification in his shoe, a Massachusetts driver’s license. The picture reflected Aquino in a Roman collar, and he admitted he gave false information because he was a priest. Fr. James Aquino was cited for Lewd Conduct, Obstructing and False Information. Pastor of Our Lady of Loreto Parish and Director of the Permanent Diaconate Program, Rev Aquino was removed October 21, 2005 (10/23/05)

Rev John J. Bagley - The former chancellor for the Catholic Diocese of Worcester and a former official at the Vatican, was removed from his pastorship at St. Mary's parish in North Grafton on February 20 because of an allegation involving sexual misconduct with a minor. (2/21/2002) 

Rev Henry Banach - According to the suit, Rev. Banach was assigned to St. Hedwig's parish, Southbridge, when he sexually assaulted and abused the brothers from 1982 to 1988 in the church sacristy and rectory. John Doe was a 12-year-old altar boy at St. Hedwig's when Rev. Banach allegedly began sexually assaulting him in a variety of ways, including genital fondling “and numerous other attempted and threatened acts of assault.” The assaults happened in the sacristy, usually before Mass, and at the rectory, according to the suit. Robert Doe was about 10 and an altar boy in the parish when Rev. Banach began sexually assaulting him, according to the suit. These included repeated acts of genital fondling and other attempted and threatened acts, the suit said. The assaults continued until 1988, according to the suit. (10-02-02)

Rev. Lee F. Bartlett - The popular and high-profile pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Worcester is removed from his parish assignment after a New Hampshire man comes forward with allegations of sexual abuse by the priest beginning in 1977, when the man was 13 years old. Fr. Bartlett is a member of the Worcester Redevelopment Authority and a former member of the city's Citizen's Advisory Council. A civil suit was later filed in Worcester Superior Court on June 7, 2002, alleging Bartlett with the sexual abuse of two 13-year-old boys in 1979.(03/17/2002)

Monsignor Leo Battista – The former director of Catholic Charities is named a defendant in a lawsuit filed in July 1992, by a former nun who claimed "Battista sexually assaulted and abused her while she was undergoing psychotherapy as his client." Previous allegations by another nun had led to the suspension of his license to practice social work in 1991. (2/9/93)

Rev. David Blizard - The Worcester paper publishes two stories relating allegations of several men who were molested by Rev. Blizard when they were teenagers. One was sexually abused when the priest was assigned to St. Roch parish in Oxford. Another was abused at age 16 when the priest was assigned to Our Lady Immaculate parish in Athol. Another said he was a student at St. Bernard's Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg when he was abused by the priest. A reporter also was told about two brothers who allegedly were abused by Rev. Blizard in Worcester. Another, a Naval Chief Petty Officer told the Telegram & Gazette that Rev. Blizard attempted to sexually assault him during an overnight stay at Holy Angels rectory in Upton in 1983. Rev. Blizard left parish work in 1983 to become a religion teacher at St. Bernard's Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg. He left the diocese in 1988. Currently Rev. Blizard is under indictment in Plymouth county on one charge of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14.

Rev. Gerard L. Branconnier - who was removed from ministry after allegations were made that he sexually abused minors, had a gay marriage ministry in operation 15 years before it was legal in this state

Monsignor Richard J. Carelli - A Pepperell man is alleging he was sexually abused during the mid-1960s Carelli allegedly persisted and "engaged in several acts of touching, rubbing and fondling of plaintiff's genitalia,' according to the suit. The headmaster also asked Mr. Doe to engage in "other explicitly sexual behavior.' A female victim has also filed a law suit in reference to sexual abuse against the headmaster when he was assigned to Holy name school.

Rev. James Champion - Allegations of sexual misconduct were made to Worcester District Attorney John Conte February 2004. The allegations came from an adult man, and by his decision no criminal charges resulted. Based on the disclosed information Rev Champion was removed as Pastor of St. Paul Parish in Blackstone.

Rev. Joseph Chu-Cong- a monk from the Spencer Abbey faced trial for the sexual assault of a hermit nun on the Abbey grounds. Rev. Chu-Cong was found not guilty in a jury trial in 2003. Not revealed publicly or during the trial was that another woman had come forward to the State Police and reported she was also sexually assaulted by Rev. Chu-Cong in the same manner. A formal complaint has been filed alleging Worcester District Attorney John Conte failed to act in good faith during the trial and his failure was the primary reason for the failed conviction.

Rev. Joseph A. Coonan - Pastor of St. John parish in Worcester, Connan was placed on administrative leave, based on allegations of sexual abuse of minors dating back to the 1970s before he entered the priesthood. He said the allegations stem from his work with heroin addicts at a crisis center that served the Webster, Dudley and Oxford area in 1977, 12 years before his ordination as a priest.

Rev. Paul M. Desilets - 16 counts of Indecent Assault and Battery on a Child (under age fourteen) occurring on various and diverse dates between 9/1/78 – 8/31/84. 10 counts of Indecent Assault and Battery (age fourteen or older) occurring on various and diverse dates between 7/11/80– 8/31/84. 6 counts of Assault and Battery (Indecent Assault and Battery not applicable at the time the offenses were committed) occurring on various and diverse dates between 9/1/78-7/10/80.The defendant is charged with committing the above offenses while assigned as an Associate Pastor with the Assumption Parish of Bellingham, MA. The complainants were all youths involved as altar servers in the church.

Rev Chester Devlin - Who headed the Respect Life office for the Catholic Diocese of Worcester, is removed by Bishop Daniel P. Reilly from his assignment at St. Bernadette parish in Northboro because of an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor in the 1980s. He was also removed from his position as director of anti-abortion activities in the diocese and has been placed on administrative leave. During the 1980s, Rev. Devlin was a headmaster at Notre Dame Academy of Fitchburg, a privately owned Catholic school. (4/30/2002)

Rev. Paul J. Doherty- Pastor of St. Mary’s Parish, Worcester was removed because Rev. Doherty confided to Bishop Robert McManus that he had engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor more than 30 years ago.

Rev. Victor Frobas - Indicted by grand jury on three counts of unnatural rape of a child and three counts of indecent assault and battery, May 1993. Rev. Frobas had previously served prison time after sexual assault convictions in Missouri in 1988. Rev. Frobas died before the Worcester case came to trial. (5/13/93)

Rev. Joseph Fredette – After being extradited from Canada, the former live-in director of Come Alive, Inc., a Worcester halfway house for delinquent boys, was convicted on July 12, 1995 for sexually assaulting a teenage boy who had been committed to Fredette's care by the state Department of Youth Services. (7/13/95) conviction has been overturned by appeals court.

Rev. Jean-Paul Gagnon - Mr. Staney alleges that Rev. Gagnon molested and sexually abused him in “multiple incidents” inside the rectory at 51 Illinois St., at the Staney family home in Spencer, and in two incidents at Rev. Gagnon's summer home at Quinebaug Cove Campground, Brimfield, according to the suit. The sexual acts included oral and anal penetration and involved use of alcohol and pornography. Additionally, Bishop Reilly and Monsignor Thomas J. Sullivan, who was Vocation Director at the time, were told of the homosexual activity between Mr. Boisvert and Rev. Gagnon three days before Christmas in 1998. The bishop expressed "disappointment' in the general situation, he said.

Rev. David A. Holley – This Worcester Diocese priest served in several area parishes during the 1960s, but after reports of abuse here, was transferred to New Mexico and Texas in the 1970s and 80s. In May 1993, he pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault and aggravated sodomy in New Mexico, and was sentenced to 275 years in prison. In 1997 the Dallas Morning News reported that letters in Holley's personnel file showed that bishops knew he was a child molester, yet allowed him to work for at least 20 years in four states. (12/18/92)

Rev  Peter J. Inzerillo – A Spencer man, who later considered entering the priesthood, alleges in 1985, Inzerillo sexually assaulted him. The young man had gone to Inzerillo for counseling, he was the vocation director for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester at the time of the assault. Additionally Rev. LaBaire came forward in 1996 to reveal that another man told him that the same priest had groped him and pressed his pelvis against him. it was later determined that an additional accuser, had come forward previous to Mr. Gagne, Christopher Therrien, who had a meeting with Monsignor Edmond T. Tinsley and the Rev. Rocco Piccolomini, director of priest personnel. Mr. Therrien repeated the accusation, and Rev. Inzerillo denied it. No actions were taken by the Worcester Diocese. Inzerillo was reassigned and again inappropriate actively was reported to the Pastor of St Leo's school and not until a group of parents hired a lawyer did the removal of Inzerillo occur in march 2002.(5/27/94) (3/27/2002)

Rev. Norman Jalbert - Mr. Plante describe his first encounter with Jalbert as beginning with what he suspected to be wine that was laced with some type of drug because he would become spacey and “unable to move.” Mr. Plante said the Rev. Jalbert would suggest they “do a Mass,” talk about adolescent issues he was having with his parents, fondle his genitals and sit on his stomach and chest. He said there were times that he would be told to take his shirt off and lie on the floor, face up, with his arms outstretched as though he were Jesus on the cross. This was supposed to be a breathing exercise. Mr. Plante said the priest would put on his stole, a vestment worn during Mass and while administering sacraments, take a Communion wafer out and tell him this was the body of Jesus Christ. He would also make the sign of the cross over his prone body, he said.(02-04-03)

Rev. Thomas Kane – The former psychologist and director of the House of Affirmation, a treatment center for Catholic clergy, is named a defendant in a sex abuse lawsuit filed by a local man who "claims he was sexually assaulted beginning at the age of 9 by the Rev. Kane." (4/24/93)

Rev. Thadeous Kardas – Two women who allege that Rev. Kardas sexually molested them in the early 1970s, beginning when they were 12 years old, name him in a sex abuse lawsuit filed in February 1995.

Rev. Robert Kelley - Sentenced to 5 - 7 years in Walpole state prison on March 11, 1990, after pleading guilty to two counts of indecent assault and unnatural rape of a female child. Rev Kelley was pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Gardner when the molestations took place. He was released from prison in 1996. On May 6, 2002 he was charged with raping another girl when he was assigned to St. Cecilia Parish in Leominster from 1980 to 1983. Rev Kelley pled guilty to charges of Rape of Child – Unnatural (4 counts) and Rape of Child (2 counts). Sentenced October 1, 2003, now serving a 5-7 year Cedar Junction sentence. With 20 yrs probation to follow his release.

Rev. Raymond P. Messier - was removed from St. Francis of Assisi Church in Athol and St. Peter's Church in Petersham, following revelations that he had molested a 9-year-old boy at a camp in 1980. The report was made to Worcester Diocese bishop Timothy Harrington, who assured the boy's mother and therapist at the time that Rev. Messier would no longer have contact with young boys. In later years, however, he was assigned to three other parishes. (6/8/2002)

Rev. Edward Nicewicz - Jailed on October 31, 1986, after pleading guilty to charges of indecent assault and rape of two Sutton girls, ages 11 and 12. Fr. Nicewicz was a chaplain at Gardner State Prison when the offenses occurred. (11/1/86)

Rev. Brendon O'Donohue – A Spencer man who alleges that O’Donohue sexually assaulted him twice when he was a 13-year-old altar boy, names O’Donohue as a defendant in a sex abuse lawsuit filed May, 1994. (5/27/94)

Rev. Ronald Provost - Sentenced to 10 years in prison in February 1993 after being convicted of taking nude photographs of ten year-old boy. Placed on probation after suspension of sentence. Prior to his trial, investigators had seized about 100 photographs of nude male youths from the rectory of St. Joseph's Church in Barre. (2/17/93)

Rev. Donald J. Rebokus - who died during the 1980s, has been the subject of allegations by Mr. Bryan Smith, who on several occasions during the mid-1970s alleges to have sexual abuse sessions that involved a toy slot machine, wrestling and super hot showers in his apartment at the school. (01-22-03)

Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger - A Shrewsbury man alleges in the lawsuit that Rueger began to abuse him when he was a 13-year-old altar boy at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Worcester. The suit alleges that the abuse continued when he was a student at the Lyman School for Boys in Westborough, where he was placed after running away because of the abuse. The civil suit was later dismissed at the request of the Plaintiff.

Rev. Robert A. Shauris - A New Hampshire man comes forward to say he was sexually molested by the Rev. Shauris when he was a student at St. Bernard's Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg. Rev. Shauris, who has been on leave from the Diocese of Worcester for several years, was a music teacher at the school. The victim alleges Rev. Shauris was partial to providing him with mixed drinks called Black Russians. The sexual misconduct occurred when he was 14 and 15 years old, from 1983 to 1985, he said. Rev. Shauris was named along with a group of priests in a confidential settlement agreement of a 1993 lawsuit brought by Mark D. Barry, who accused the Rev. Thomas A. Kane of molesting him for several years, beginning when he was 9. The confidential agreement, obtained recently by the Telegram & Gazette, absolved Rev. Shauris, the Rev. Thomas Teczar, who is the subject of other legal action involving sexual misconduct with a minor, and Monsignor Brendon Riordon of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., from future liability. (03/27/2002)

Rev. Justin Steponaitis – Alleged to have "sexually molested numerous young parish children" at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Athol, Steponaitis is a defendant in a sex abuse lawsuit filed Jan. 11, 1993. (1/12/93)

Rev. John J. Szantyr - 1985, the alleged victim, then ten years old, began to serve as an altar boy at Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in Worcester. At that time, he met (Rev.) John Szantyr, who was assigned to that church and who was in charge of the altar boys the young boy alleges he was sexually assaulted. Szanty was arraigned on three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, July 31, 2003. Sznatyr was additionally arraigned on a second criminal complaint involving one count of indecent assault and battery, on a child under 14, November 10, 2003 involving allegation of a young parish boy.   

Rev. Thomas Teczar - Defendant in a sex abuse lawsuit filed April 26, 1996 by a Webster man who says Teczar molested him repeatedly when he was a teenager. After molesting kids in Massachusetts, Teczar was transferred to the diocese of Fort Worth, Texas. The priest's history was the subject of a Page One investigative report in the Worcester Telegram on February 10, 2002. (5/25/96)

Rev Gerard Walsh - Was removed from his Worcester Diocese parish and his duties as state police chaplain after admitting he molested an altar boy more than two decades ago. He acknowledged in a letter that he sexually abused a youth when he was assigned to a Leominster church. Walsh has been state police chaplain, a voluntary position, since the mid-1980s. He officiated at the second inauguration of William Weld as governor in 1995.A Leominster man stated Rev Walsh had showed him sexually graphic material, asked him to open his shirt and pants, and grabbed his genitals on several occasions. (03-21-02)