SWAMPSCOTT (MA)
Lynn Daily Item
By Debra Glidden
Friday, February 18, 2005
SWAMPSCOTT - A local priest, who is accused of asking a 12-year-old girl and her mother to perform sexual acts for a fee, was arraigned in Chelsea District Court Thursday morning.
The Rev. Jerome Gillespie, 55, was released on his own recognizance after pleading not guilty to charges of child enticement, soliciting sex for a fee and annoying and accosting a person of the opposite sex.
Gillespie's attorney, Timothy O'Neill of Hanify & King, said, "My sense is the charges against my client have been inflated beyond recognition."
As a condition of his release, Gillespie, who resigned as pastor of St. John the Evangelist last month after the allegations were made public, was ordered not have any unsupervised contact with minors.
Gillespie is scheduled to return to court on April 4 for a pre-trial arraignment.