Former NH Priest Had History of Misconduct, by Ryan O'Connor, The Patch, July 8, 2011

Former NH Priest Had History of Misconduct

By Ryan O'Connor
The Patch
July 8, 2011

http://bedford-nh.patch.com/articles/former-priest-had-history-of-misconduct

When informed of potential sexual assault allegations directed toward former New Hampshire priest Franklin Huntress, Rev. Timothy Rich, Canon of the Ordinary for the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, said he and Bishop Gene Robinson took immediate action.

According to Rich, a letter was written and released to parishioners at Grace Episcopal Church in Manchester encouraging anyone who may have been assaulted or who may have knowledge of such an incident to seek pastoral counseling.

An individual did come forward, and with that person's consent, Rich said police were notified.

"Whenever a minister of the church, whether they be lay or ordained, is accused of assaulting someone or engaging in something distrustful, it's a travesty, and the first concern of the Bishop and the Church is for the well being of the complainant and for the well being of the congregation as well," said Rich. "It's our commitment to be under the light with situations like these rather than stay in the dark, and we welcome good coverage because it will hopefully help us prevent any other type of conduct like this in the future and hopefully encourage others who may have been hurt to come forward as well."

Whether the person who brought the alleged assault to light was the same individual who sparked the police investigation that led to the arrest and indictment of the 78-year-old Huntress is not known.

But reports from various news and church outlets indicate there was a history of potential assault cases involving Huntress dating back roughly 37 years.

A statement from the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts confirms Huntress was removed from the priesthood in February following an investigation launched last October in response to a complaint alleging sexual misconduct with a minor in 1974, when Huntress was serving as assistant priest at Grace Episcopal Church in Manchester.

"Since that action, other individuals have come forward with similar allegations of misconduct by Mr. Huntress when they were minors decades ago," said the statement, which was provided to Patch by Tracy Sukraw, director of communications for the Massachusetts Diocese. "Following the policies and procedures that the Episcopal Church has long had in place for dealing with such situations, the Diocese of Massachusetts has acted promptly to report them to the appropriate civil and church authorities, to offer counseling referrals for those who may have been victimized and to make a pastoral response team available to any Massachusetts congregations where misconduct may have taken place.

"We cannot speak to these latest developments that are in the hands of law enforcement and the courts, but we very much do want to say that the Diocese of Massachusetts has faced this situation from its beginning with real sorrow for everyone affected and that we remain committed to making our congregations safe through transparency, diligence, care for victims and due process."

Huntress, who was ordained in 1962, served at St. Paul's Church in Malden, Mass. and two England parishes prior to arriving in New Hampshire in 1971. After leaving the Granite State in 1975, he returned to England for four years and then presided over St. Stephen's Church in Schuvlerville, N.Y. from 1979-85.

According to an April 19 story in the Saratogian newspaper, Huntress was accused of assault by a man, now 39, who claimed he was violated multiple times during the priest's six-year tenure in New York. The report also said the accuser no longer lives in the Empire State.

Sometime in the early '80s, Huntress allegedly returned to New Hampshire and sexually assaulted a child under the age of 13.

In 1985, he arrived back in Massachusetts, where he presided over St. Martin's Church in New Bedford, then moved back to England in 1991 and retired following a reported 1994 assault.

Over the last 16 years, he served in occasional, unofficial capacities at All Saints Church in Dorchester, Church of the Advent in Boston and, most recently, at St. Michael's Church in Marblehead.

Though Rich said there are were indications of misconduct at the time when Huntress served in Manchester from 1971-75, he said the Episcopal Church is still encouraging others to come forward.

Police echoed that sentiment.

"We're not ruling out there could be other victims," said Bedford Police Detective Matt Fleming. "Obviously, given the high-profile nature of these types of cases, there's a lot of exposure, so we certainly encourage anyone else who knows anything to contact us. We'd be happy to talk about it."