April 27, 2006

Archdiocese: Ex-chaplain will be defrocked

BOSTON (MA)
Salem News

BOSTON — The former chaplain at Peabody's Bishop Fenwick High School will be "permanently removed" from the priesthood, according to a strongly worded statement released yesterday by the Archdiocese of Boston.

The Rev. James W. Nyhan, 60, pleaded guilty this week in a Charleston, S.C., court to three counts of committing a lewd act on a minor. He entered his plea on Monday, the day his trial was scheduled to start. Though he was sentenced to 10 years on each count, the judge suspended the sentence and placed Nyhan on probation for five years. The archidiocese, however, doesn't plan to spare its typical punishment for such transgressions.

Posted by kshaw at April 27, 2006 01:09 PM