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	Part 2: McAllister Claims Priest Abuse LED to Double Life By Nate Birt Boonville Daily News September 3, 2009 |Part 1| Part 3| Part 4| A secret life Former Boonville resident Mark McAllister said he never really fought Gerald Howard's sexual advances because "it never occurred to me that it was wrong." For months, McAllister said, Howard had occupied a position of trust and leadership in his mind. McAllister said his peers looked up to Howard because he wasn't like the other priests. He smoked and encouraged McAllister to listen to rock music and grow long hair, he said. Nonetheless, McAllister said, his first sexual encounter with Howard left him feeling confused. "It sort of seemed to go against the grain of my sexuality," McAllister said, "but at the same time, this powerful priest was telling me that I was, in fact, bisexual." Mark McAllister said he experienced other feelings, too, after his first encounter with Howard. He felt ashamed. He felt dirty. But it was a formative encounter, he said. McAllister described it as his sex education. After Howard touched him the first time, McAllister said, their sexual encounters progressed rapidly in frequency and scope. The worst thing someone can think of, he said, the two probably engaged in. McAllister said that at times, he fought Howard mentally, expressing frustration not in words but in resisting his advances. In referring to his contact with McAllister, Howard would comment that the two were in a relationship, McAllister said. When he resisted, McAllister said, Howard would ask questions such as, ""Why don't you kiss me back?'" The encounters continued for years, McAllister said, until he was 18. By that point, McAllister said, Howard had not been working at Ss. Peter and Paul for years. The trail of Gerald Howard Gerald Howard, formerly known as Carmine Sita, was ordained in 1976 for the Archdiocese of Newark, according to an Aug. 13 news release from the Diocese of Jefferson City. On Oct. 22, 1982, Sita pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree sexual assault, according to a judgment of conviction and dismissals form filed with the Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County. Those documents state that Sita was sentenced to five years of probation and that "defendant need not report to Probation Officer. Specific terms are to enroll in such a program in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as approved and recommended by Probation Officer, and remain in program until discharged by proper authorities." The document continues by stating that a written report was to be submitted to the probation department quarterly for the first year, and semi-annually thereafter. The document also states that, "A penalty of $25.00 is imposed by the Court to be paid at once. Credit for time. Right to appeal." Three numbered points - labeled as "statement of reasons" - are also listed on the document. Those are listed in that document as: "1. The nature and circumstance of the offense. "2. The defendant has no history of prior delinquency or criminal activity. "3. The defendant is particularly likely to respond affirmatively to probationary treatment." Sita's signature also appears on a waiver of indictment and trial by jury form filed with the New Jersey court, along with the signature of his attorney at the time, identified in the document as Samuel De Luca. A voicemail seeking comment was left early in the evening of Aug. 24 with the law office of De Luca and Taite in New Jersey but had not been returned as of the morning of Aug. 25. Treatment in New Mexico After Sita pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault, he was transferred to a facility operated by the Servants of the Paraclete in New Mexico, said Jim Goodness, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Newark, on Aug. 24. It is unclear how Sita came to be known as Gerald Howard. But the Aug. 13 news release from the Diocese of Jefferson City identified Howard as "formerly known as Fr. Carmine Sita." And an Aug. 13 news release from the anti-abuse group claims Sita changed his name after being sent to New Mexico. Howard's transfer would simply not have happened today, Goodness said, because of rules prohibiting such actions in the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. That charter is available online at usccb.org/ocyp/charter.pdf. Established in 2002 and revised in 2005, it states in point No. 8 of its "Norms" section that: "When even a single act of sexual abuse by a priest or deacon is admitted or is established after an appropriate process in accord with canon law, the offending priest or deacon will be removed permanently from ecclesiastical ministry, not excluding from the clerical state, if the case so warrants." But in the 1980s, Goodness said, the church "was being guided by the medical experts in terms of treatment issues." It is unclear what type of treatment Howard may have undergone at the New Mexico facility. But an article on the Web site of the Servants of the Paraclete, titled " Father Gerald Fitzgerald: Extraordinary Servant, Vessel of Priestly Love," suggests the facility was only open for a short time. The article states that "in a daring experiment, in 1978, The Servant's first psychotherapeutic center was opened in Albuquerque, New Mexico," and later noting that the "Servants were in the forefront of holistic therapeutic treatment for numerous psychological issues." But the article later notes that "sensationalism and inaccuracy," in addition to "a prevailing litigious spirit, ultimately led us to close the therapeutic program at our Mother House." Another paragraph states that there were financial consequences from applying "today's knowledge and standards" to the past, and notes that "because of associations, many men hesitated to come to our New Mexico facility as they feared they would be labeled." A voicemail left early on the night of Aug. 24 seeking comment from a representative of the Dittmer-based Vianney Renewal Community, which is associated with the Servants of the Paraclete, had not been returned as of Tuesday morning. Howard's new role After Howard's treatment in New Mexico ended, Goodness said, it appears that those responsible for monitoring Howard at the time thought that it would be all right for him to work elsewhere. "Apparently, the medical and psychological experts at the time felt that he could go into another ministerial position after the treatment was over," Goodness said. Mark Saucier, a spokesman for the Diocese of Jefferson City, said on the afternoon of Aug. 24 that the diocese doesn't know what was involved in Howard's treatment. He said it's also unclear whether the diocese ever received information about Howard's past, and that it's also unknown how Howard came to work in Boonville. "Whatever reasons Bishop (Michael) McAuliffe had for admitting him to the diocese and assigning him to Ss. Peter and Paul in Boonville are unknown to us. We just know that he was appointed, and he was there for that period of time," Saucier said. Goodness said that the archdiocese was made aware in August of new information about Howard's whereabouts and that the archdiocese has passed that information onto the authorities. He declined to comment on what the authorities have said they will do with that information. Goodness said he could not confirm whether Howard is now living in New Jersey. He said the archdiocese has made every effort to work with the victim. Howard has not been supported by the Archdiocese of Newark for more than 20 years, Goodness said. Driven to succeed After meeting Howard, McAllister said, he felt driven to succeed. McAllister said he was trying to become "whatever a man is, having this dark, secret thing with a priest." Howard continued to threaten him by saying he would go public with their encounters, McAllister said. Howard was let go from Ss. Peter and Paul in 1984 for reasons unrelated to any allegations of abuse, according to the Aug. 13 news release from the Diocese of Jefferson City. But McAllister said there was no question that Howard would continue to keep in contact. He did so, McAllister said, until McAllister left for college in 1988. Howard took McAllister on several trips, McAllister said, including a trip to visit the then-newly refurbished Statue of Liberty in New York, and another to go see Bruce Springsteen in concert in New Jersey. McAllister said his parents were OK with this travel because Howard had asked them whether McAllister could come. McAllister said he was sexually abused every day - sometimes, several times a day - on those trips. Meanwhile, McAllister said, he was trying to excel in everything he could, including in school and in athletics. He participated in baseball, basketball and football. He did well, he said, but his activities felt more like a job than anything else. McAllister said he always had a girlfriend in high school. A therapist has since told him that many of his actions at the time served as a coping mechanism, an effort to reestablish the manhood that Howard was taking from him, McAllister said.
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