June 05, 2005

'I can't even pray. I need to be able to find that again'

MAINE
Portland Press Herald

By JOHN RICHARDSON, Portland Press Herald Writer

When Patricia Butkowski was a first-grader at St. Patrick's School in Lewiston, the Rev. Lawrence Sabatino was a friendly 34-year-old priest with dark, curly hair and dark eyes.

The only thing Butkowski remembers about his appearance, however, is the large nose that used to appear in her nightmares and make her scream.

Gregory Harkins, Trish's brother, remembers more of what happened than she does. He was two years older, and he witnessed one of the incidents.

Harkins was playing with a couple of fellow altar boys after school when Sabatino came up, handed out chocolates and other candies, and asked Harkins to go get his sister so they could go for a ride. Harkins remembers feeling special.

"I thought it was just because he liked me and I was going to be chief altar boy or something," he said.

Posted by kshaw at June 5, 2005 07:27 AM