METHUEN (MA)
The Eagle-Tribune
By Yadira Betances ybetances@eagletribune.com The Eagle-Tribune
METHUEN – Holding a sign that read: “Sexual Abuse of little boys and girls is soul murder,” Bassam George Haddad stood outside St. Basil Seminary yesterday in a public demonstration against a priest he alleges sexually abused him as a teenager.
Haddad, 39, of Methuen, said he was molested by the Rev. Ross S. Frey at St. Joseph Parish in Lawrence between 1986 to 1991.
“It’s been tough. He ruined my life,” said Haddad, who said he was always angry and picked fights for no reason. He kept the abuse secret from his mother and his wife of 11 years until recently.
I couldn’t handle it any longer. When I told my wife, she was upset, then told me she understood why I am the way I am,” her said.
Frey, a member of the Melkite-Greek Catholic church was ordained in 1974. He was accused in the 1990s of sexually abusing at least 11 teenage boys during weekend retreats at the Salvatorian Center on the grounds of St. Basil in Methuen and at St. Joseph’s Parish in Lawrence. Frey was transferred to Lebanon in 1996 and later placed on leave.
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