MASSACHUSETTS
The Republican
By Fred Contrada, The Republican
on July 11, 2013
NORTHAMPTON – A Chesterfield man has filed a suit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell and a former pastor, charging them with negligence for allowing a priest at the former St. Patrick’s Parish in Chicopee to sexually assault him over a period of four years.
The plaintiff, referred to in the complaint only as “John Doe,” maintains he was 13 years old when Jerry Archambault, a priest in the Springfield diocese assigned to St. Patrick’s, began sexually assaulting him. The more than 50 assaults took place at multiple locations, the suit says, including St. Patrick’s Parish, Our Lady of Ephesus House of Prayer in Vermont and the Northampton home of Paul Archambault.
Also named as a defendant is “Father R,” the pastor at St. Patrick’s who was known to the congregation as “Father Rick,” the suit states. The most recent pastor at St. Patrick’s church was Rev. Richard Turner.
The plaintiff contends that the diocese, the bishop and “Father Rick” knew or should have known about the assaults and were negligent in failing to stop them.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.