CAMBRIDGE (MA)
The Daily Free Press
By Danny Lauridsen
Published: Friday, January 28, 2005
Article Tools: Page 1 of 1
An alleged sexual abuse victim took the stand twice Thursday at Middlesex Court in Cambridge to testify against Paul Shanley, a 74-year-old former Catholic priest from St. Jean's parish in Newton, who is facing three charges of raping a child and two charges of indecent assault and battery on a child.
During the second day of cross-examination, the accuser, a 27-year-old Newton firefighter, answered questions from defense attorney Frank Mondano, who said the alleged victim's memories of sexual abuse were unreliable because they had been repressed until January 2001.
Mondano focused on the accuser's history of substance abuse and gambling addiction.
The accuser admitted to using steroids for about eight years, between the ages of 16 and 24, blaming Shanley for his "poor self-image."
"People said I wasn't fat," he said, adding that because of Shanley, "I thought I was. [Taking steroids] just made me feel better about myself."
The accuser said he sometimes used multiple steroids while he was a military police officer for the Air Force in Colorado and while he played semi-professional baseball in Tallahassee, Fla. He said Shanley ruined his aspirations to play professionally.
Posted by kshaw at January 30, 2005 05:05 AM