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	Ex-Peabody Priest Charged in Stalking Late-Night TV Host Salem News November 9, 2007 http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_313094058 PEABODY — A former associate pastor at St. John the Baptist Church in Peabody has been arrested on charges of stalking late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien by writing him threatening notes, contacting his parents and showing up at his studio, prosecutors said Wednesday. The Rev. David Ajemian was arrested last week while trying to enter a taping session of NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" at New York's Rockefeller Plaza, said Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan prosecutor's office. Ajemian's troubles, according to court papers, stem partly from a note to O'Brien where he referred to himself as "your priest stalker" and complained of not being allowed in to see an earlier taping of the show. "Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans?" the note said. "I think when he came to our church (in 2002) he was just a beginning priest," recalled St. John's parishioner Beverley Dunne. "He was just out of the seminary. He was very nice. Very enthusiastic. Very kind. Nice to talk with." Dunne had heard of his arrest and said, "It's very sad to see he's in the news. I wish him and his family the best." "Yes, Father David," said Liz Tighe, who works at the Carmelite Chapel at the Northshore Mall. She remembered Ajemian stepping in at St. John's to replace the charismatic Rev. Francisco Anzoatequi - Father Paco - who drew hundreds to his healing masses. Anzoatequi was a tough act to follow for Ajemian, 46, who was following a late vocation. After leaving Peabody, he was most recently assigned to St. Patrick's in Stoneham. The letters and e-mails to O'Brien, who grew up in Brookline, started coming in September 2006 and continued even after Ajemian was asked to stop. They were "intended to cause annoyance and alarm," Thompson said. "I want a public confession before I ever consider giving you absolution - or a spot on your couch," wrote Ajemian, who signed the notes "Padre," Thompson said. She added that Ajemian also has been in contact with O'Brien's parents. A message left Wednesday night at St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Church in Boston, which Ajemian gave as his address, was not returned. O'Brien is not commenting, an NBC spokesman said. The Boston Archdiocese said in a statement that Ajemian had been placed on leave and is no longer allowed to minister publicly. O'Brien has participated in fundraising activities for the archdiocese. The priest and the late-night host may have attended Harvard University at the same time. O'Brien graduated in 1985, and Ajemian graduated from high school in 1979 before attending the Ivy League school, according to an alumni magazine published by his high school. Ajemian referred to his tenure in Peabody in a 2003 letter to his Harvard class reunion, a letter published by the New York Times. It discusses his decision to become a priest and the difficulties of dealing with the priest sexual abuse scandal. "I am now assigned as parochial vicar at the St. John the Baptist Church in Peabody," he wrote. "As someone whose beliefs have emerged out of an agnostic past, I can testify that faith and reason can indeed coexist ... all is truly grace, poured forth and overflowing into these fragile vessels of clay. God bless everyone." Ajemian is being held at Riker's Island prison in New York, and was to appear in court today for more proceedings in the case. The priest could face up to a year in prison if convicted of aggravated harassment and stalking.
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