SWAMPSCOTT (MA)
Lynn Daily Item
By Debra Glidden
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
SWAMPSCOTT - Charges against a local priest who allegedly asked a 12-year-old girl and her mother to perform sexual acts for a fee, were continued without a finding during a hearing in Chelsea District Court Monday.
The Rev. Jerome Gillespie, 55, faced charges of child enticement, soliciting sex for a fee and annoying an accosting a person of the opposite sex, stemming from an incident last January at Floramos Lounge in Chelsea.
Authorities say Gillespie was not dressed as a priest at the time of the incident and that Gillespie allegedly propositioned the mother and daughter, but had no physical contact with them.
Almost immediately after the allegations were made public, Gillespie resigned as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Swampscott.
Suffolk District Attorney's Office Spokesman David Procopio said Gillespie pleaded guilty Monday to sufficient facts, and the charges were continued without finding for two years.