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	Former Local Resident Accuses Former Schuylerville Episcopal Priest of Sexual Abuse By Paul Post The Saratogian April 18, 2011 http://saratogian.com/articles/2011/04/18/news/doc4dacb3eed081b250762454.txt A former local resident alleges he was sexually abused by an Episcopal priest who recently chose to resign rather than face a church trial in Massachusetts. Franklin E. Huntress, 77, was most recently serving churches — in retirement — in Marblehead, Mass., and Swampscott, Mass., and was removed from the priesthood on Feb. 11 following allegations of two separate instances of abuse in 1974 and ’94, the latter in England where he was arrested on charges of child sexual abuse. Huntress was pastor of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Schuylerville from March 18, 1979, to December 1985. A former parishioner who has asked to remain anonymous has contacted state police, alleging Huntress abused him multiple times over a period of several years. The man is now 39 and lives out of state. “We’re looking into it,” said Senior Investigator Mike Cuomo of the state police barracks in Malta. “The problem is the length of time, the statute of limitations. There’s nothing we can do at this point criminally. It’s not for lack of wanting.” “To my knowledge, there are no other victims locally,” he said. The statute of limitations expired after five years or five years after the alleged victim turned 18, Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy III said. The law has since been changed to eliminate a statute of limitations for this type of crime. But police and prosecutors must adhere to what the law said when the alleged abuse actually occurred. “They can file a civil suit for money,” Murphy said. He said other local victims should still come forward and contact state police in Malta. Bishop William H. Love, head of the Albany diocese, said he doesn’t know Huntress personally, as Schuylerville is the only local church Huntress has served. “We haven’t had any contact with him since that time,” he said. “We will be trying to assist anyone who might have been victimized. We take these things quite seriously.” Love said he’ll be contacting the Schuylerville parish soon, offering whatever help the diocese can provide, such as counseling. But he said he doesn’t want to raise the issue during this week’s Easter services. “We have programs in place to try to prevent these things from happening,” Love said. “We can’t stop what’s happened in the past. We can try to stop them from happening again.” Love said there’s only been one other allegation of sexual abuse in the Albany diocese since he became bishop on Feb. 1, 2007. In that case, the accused priest took and passed a polygraph test. The accuser refused to take a test. “There was nothing further that could be done,” Love said. The church took the most severe action it could by removing Huntress from the priesthood, he said. “That’s the highest penalty an ordained person can suffer,” Love said. Published reports say an investigation began last fall after a person, charging they had been abused by Huntress in 1974, contacted the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in October. An investigation found that he had been arrested for sexually abusing a child in England in 1994. Huntress started his career in Malden, Mass., and has gone back and forth between England and the U.S. several times, serving in 12 different churches. Immediately before coming to Schuylerville, he was at the Diocese of Leicester, England, from 1975 to 1979. He was serving a church in Manchester, N.H., when the first alleged incident occurred. However, church officials would not confirm if the alleged incident took place there or elsewhere. From Schuylerville, Huntress went to New Bedford, Mass., where he served until 1991. He was in England until 1995, when he retired shortly after being arrested there for sexual abuse of a child. Somehow, church officials in America didn’t learn about the case, and he got a new job that same year in Dorchester, Mass. Huntress has said he’s done nothing wrong. “All the allegations are absolutely false and untrue,” he told the Marblehead (Mass.) Reporter. The St. Stephen’s Church website, which details the church’s history, says a number of building repairs and upgrades took place during Huntress’ first years in Schuylerville. “Fr. Huntress submitted his letter of resignation to the vestry and congregation on Oct. 21, 1985, to become effective Dec. 2, 1985, in order to take up residency in New Bedford, Mass., as rector of St. Martin’s Church,” the website reads. Contact: ppost@saratogian.com
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