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	Brockton, West Bridgewater Priests Among Those Named in Sex Abuse List By Amanda Reed and Amy Littlefield Brockton Enterprise January 20, 2011 http://www.enterprisenews.com/lifestyle/faith/x362545947/Brockton-West-Bridgewater-priests-among-those-named-in-sex-abuse-list BROCKTON — The unnamed man said a priest had sexually abused him when he was 11 years old, kissing and hitting him and making him feel "trapped," according to a 1996 Archdiocese of Boston memo. The accused priest is long dead, and the abuse reportedly occurred in 1960. The priest named in the memo, which can be seen on the nonprofit website BishopAccountability.org, reportedly served at St. Edward's Church in Brockton. He is one of at least four people with ties to the Brockton area who were named Wednesday by attorney Mitchell Garabedian in a list of accused sex abusers. The others include a priest at St. Patrick's Church in Brockton and a priest and groundskeeper at St. Ann's Church in West Bridgewater. The Enterprise is not naming the priests, deacons and members of religious orders because they were not prosecuted and because inadequate information was provided to verify the claims against them. Many of the allegations are decades old and many of those who were named are dead. The four connected to the Brockton area already had been publicly accused of sexual abuse, archdiocese spokeswoman Kelly Lynch said. On Wednesday, Garabedian, a lawyer for hundreds of abuse victims, released the names of 117 priests and members of religious orders he said were accused in abuse cases that ended in settlements or arbitration awards. The list included 12 clergy and seven other people with church connections whose names had not previously been made public. Garabedian said he released the names after waiting two years for the Boston Archdiocese to do so. "The archdiocese has not done it even though it said it would for two years," he said. "It's a symbol of validation that's very important to victims." The Boston Archdiocese responded to the release in a written statement, saying the archdiocese reports all allegations of clergy sexual abuse to law enforcement and informs the public when a clergy member is convicted or removed from active ministry because of a child sexual abuse accusation. The archdiocese also said all of the 12 clerics named for the first time Wednesday are dead. One of those men was ordained in Chile, not Boston, the statement said. One was a deacon, the only clergy member accused before his death, Lynch said. "All of the priests listed were deceased at the time the complaint of sexual abuse of a minor was made," the statement said. "Further, no prior complaints of sexual abuse of a minor had been made against any of these men. In cases when an accused priest is deceased, it is nearly impossible to conduct a thorough and fair investigation into a claim." Among the more than 100 names on the list was a Brockton priest who served at St. Patrick's Church in Brockton and was accused by three male victims of sexually abusing them in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the victims said the abuse began when he was about nine years old. The list also named a former priest at St. Ann's Church in West Bridgewater and a former groundskeeper at the parish. The men served at the North Main Street parish more than five decades ago. At least one of those men is dead. They are believed to have sexually abused a teen-aged male for seven years during the late 1950s and early 1960s, according to Garabedian. Garabedian said the victim made the abuse claim about three or four years ago, and the victim's case was settled two years ago. The victim in that case is still alive and residing outside of New England, Garabedian said. Amanda Reed may be reached at areed@enterprisenews.com. Amy Littlefield may be reached at alittlef@enterprisenews.com.
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