April 05, 2005

Case against priest who allegedly made lewd comments continued

BOSTON (MA)
Dateline Alabama

The Associated Press

April 05, 2005

The charges against a Roman Catholic priest who allegedly sexually propositioned a 12-year-old girl and her mother at a Chelsea restaurant will be dismissed if he meets the conditions of a two-year probationary period.

The case against the Rev. Jerome F. Gillespie, who resigned as pastor of St. John the Evangelist parish in Swampscott after the Jan. 25 incident, was continued without a finding on Monday in Chelsea District Court.

As part of Gillespie's agreeing to sufficient facts, he must complete substance abuse, mental health, and sex offender evaluations, and cannot have contact with children under age 18 without notifying their parents about his case.

If Gillespie, 55, does not meet those conditions, the case will be put back on track for trial, prosecutors said.

Posted by kshaw at April 5, 2005 08:01 PM