By Brian Fraga
SouthCoast Today
December 31, 2010
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101231/NEWS/12310317/-1/NEWSMAP
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| PETER PEREIRA/The Standard-Times Jean Revil will return to Bishop Stang High School Monday after the district attorney announced an investigation determined there was “insufficient evidence” to criminally charge her with molesting a former student. |
Sitting under an icon of St. Benedict, Jean Revil wore a Bishop Stang faculty sweater Thursday and talked about the anxiety she felt about once again teaching and interacting with adolescents.
"Am I gonna be jumpy? Anytime a kid comes to approach me, am I going to freak out?" asked Revil, who will return to her job Monday as a theology teacher and campus ministry director at Bishop Stang High School.
She has been on administrative leave since Oct. 7, a few days after a former student accused Revil, 53, of engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with her during a freshmen retreat in 1994.
The Bristol County District Attorney's Office said this week a "full investigation" determined there was "insufficient evidence" to criminally charge Revil. Prosecutors also said any criminal charges would have been barred anyway by the statute of limitations.
During an interview at her Dartmouth home, Revil discussed what she described as a trying ordeal. She said she was innocent, wrongly accused by an individual experiencing turmoil in her personal life. Revil said her faith sustained her, as well as the prayers of many who deluged her with e-mails and cards offering their support.
Dozens of Bishop Stang alumni established a Facebook page to show their solidarity. Andrew Cardin, a 2010 graduate, said he had been praying for Revil to be cleared. The school's former chaplain celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving this week with 20 other faculty members.
"I've had so many people come to my defense, so many people stand by me. The support has just been incredible," said Revil, a Benedictine oblate who connected her experiences to Jesus being falsely accused.
"If one soul got out of purgatory and went to heaven because of the suffering I offered, I guess it was worth it," she said.
Bishop Stang President Theresa Dougall said the school community was "excited" that Revil, a popular figure on campus, will be returning Monday.
"Obviously, this has been a burden on a lot of people here. We knew all along these allegations would be dismissed," Dougall said.
The Rev. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Bedford and executive editor of The Anchor, the weekly diocesan newspaper for which Revil wrote a monthly column, said he was "thrilled" the allegations were "proven to be unsubstantiated."
"I had been praying over the course of the last 80 days that the district attorney's investigation would be prompt and discover what all of us who knew Jean and her self-giving character anticipated would be the outcome: that she would be proven to be innocent of these charges."
The District Attorney's Office did not reveal the accuser's identity. Revil said she did not remember having the student in class, though she did recall talking with her in the hallways. Revil said her accuser "was one of those kids who needed attention."
"In her yearbook, she thanked 10 teachers and I was the first she named. Maybe that's how I got picked," said Revil, adding that she learned from her attorney on Christmas Eve that authorities would not file charges against her.
"I was relieved, but I still don't have my life back," she said. "For the rest of my life, when you Google my name, this story will follow."
Revil said someone vandalized her house and spray-painted "kid molester" on her garage a few days after the diocese disclosed the allegations via a press release. Given the Catholic Church's recent history of covering up priestly sex abuse, Revil said she agreed with the decision to suspend her pending an investigation.
However, she said it was "a sin against justice" for the diocese to publicize the allegation against her.
"Before any investigation was done, they sent out a press release. They threw me under the bus," Revil said. "I never did anything wrong. I'm a totally innocent person and, in the church's effort to protect victims of abuse, I became the victim."
John Kearns, spokesman for the Diocese of Fall River, said the diocesan policy — which calls for suspension and public disclosure of a credible accusation of sex abuse — is designed to protect children and young people.
"How would you explain (Revil's) absence from the school without being honest?" Kearns asked. "A lot of times, members of the community can offer assistance in these investigations."
Landry said he and his fellow priests in the New Bedford area have expressed misgivings with the policy — they want a better definition of "credible accusation" — and felt Revil's case could have been handled better.
"We thought at a practical level it might have been premature for the diocese to put out a press release on Jean Revil," Landry said. "It's hard to restore a person's reputation after no matter how hard you try."
Contact: bfraga@s-t.com
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