Coakley Criticized for Not Prosecuting, NECN, November 23, 2009

Coakley Criticized for Not Prosecuting Geoghan Earlier

By Brad Puffer
NECN
November 23, 2009

http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/11/23/Coakley-criticized-for-not/1259015448.html (with video)

[See also a transcript of the video with additional screenshots.]

Attorney General Martha Coakley is being forced to answer questions about actions she took years ago. At issue, why she didn't prosecute a now convicted pedophile priest first time she was presented with the accusations against him.

As Middlesex District Attorney, Martha Coakley won widespread attention and praise for being the first to prosecute accused pedophile priest John Geoghan. But according to the Boston Globe, Coakley investigated several complaints seven years earlier. An investigation that ended with a probation deal, no formal charges and no criminal record.

Martha Coakley: "I defy anybody to criticize me as my time as a child abuse prosecutor. Toughest job I have ever had. We had nine hundred cases a year we would agonize over. Do we have enough evidence? Is this child willing to testify?"

On the campaign trail in Springfield, the Senate candidate says she personally interviewed three boys. And despite disturbing allegation including inappropriate comments and behavior, she insists those boys did not describe anything that rose to the level of indecent assault.

"Had this been ten years ago, another D.A.'s office another part of the country that case would not have gone anyway. But we realized we had to do the extent of what we could which was get him on probation."

Some advocates say Coakley lost an important opportunity to publicly expose Geoghan, perhaps leading many more victims to come forward.

Anne Barrett Doyle: "When you have the choice of doing a closed door deal with a potential child molester or getting it out in the open even in a case you might lose always choose to go public."

Anne Barrett Doyle is co-chair of Bishop Accountability.org. She says only after civil suits gained media attention did more victims come forward.

Anne Barrett Doyle: "Those 100 plus Geoghan victims may have gotten relief sooner and who knows maybe the whole lid would have blown of the entire Boston Archdiocese sooner."

And despite widespread allegations that came later, both against Geoghan and other priests, Coakley isn't backing down.

Martha Coakley: "I believe we took exactly the right course and the strongest course we could have and if there are others who didn't do the right thing it was not the Middlesex D.A.'s office it wasn't our handling of the case it was others like the Boston Archdiocese who should have released those records sooner."

Records later released showing the extent of the allegations against Geoghan.