Incident with Minor in 80s LED to Priests Arrest, by Ryan O'Connor, The Patch, July 7, 2011

Incident with Minor in "80s LED to Priest's Arrest

By Ryan O'Connor
The Patch
July 7, 2011

http://bedford-nh.patch.com/articles/incident-with-a-minor-in-the-1980s-led-to-priests-arrest

Bedford Police have confirmed the arrest of Franklin Huntress Jr., a former Episcopal priest charged with felonious sexual assault stemming from an incident or incidents involving a juvenile under the age of 13 in the early 1980s.

The Rev. Timothy Rich of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire confirmed Thursday that an unnamed person came forward after accusations against Huntress surfaced in Massachusetts that led to his resigning from the priesthood in February.

At the time of his resignation, Huntress had been serving in an occasional unofficial capacity at St. Michael's Church in Marblehead, according to a statement from the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.

According to Bedford Police Detective Matt Fleming, the 78-year-old Huntress, who was arraigned Thursday in Hillsborough County Superior Court, was arrested by law enforcement in Marblehead, Mass. and extradited to New Hampshire as a fugitive from justice.

Fleming noted that Huntress was not running from police, but rather required extradition because he was living in Massachusetts when he was arrested.

According to Rich, Huntress served as assistant priest at Grace Church in Manchester from 1971-75, though Fleming said the alleged assault occurred in the early 1980s.

A victim, Fleming said, contacted Manchester Police several months ago, and the investigation soon became multi-jurisdictional when it became clear that a possible assault had taken place within Bedford town limits. The detective said he was unable to provide further details about the case's Bedford ties at this time.

Rich said there were "absolutely no allegations or any indication that (Huntress) was engaging in any type of misconduct," during his time at Grace Church. He added that he is uncertain of the circumstances which might have brought Huntress back to New Hampshire in the early 1980s, a period when he was serving at St. Stephen’s Church in Schuylerville, N.Y.

Huntress was released on $25,000 bail following his arraignment, according to WMUR-TV.

Bedford and Manchester Police urge anyone with further information in this case contact to contact them. Bedford Police can be reached at 603-472-5113.