BARNSTABLE (MA)
Cape Cod Times [Hyannis MA]
June 21, 2024
By Walker Armstrong, Cape Cod Times
A Barnstable Superior Court jury found Mark Hession, the former Cape Cod priest accused of rape, not guilty Friday on two counts of rape alleged to have occurred between 2005 and 2008.
The jury deadlocked, however, on one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, alleged to have taken place in 2002.
Judge Mark C. Gildea declared a mistrial on the charge of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, saying the jury was “hopelessly deadlocked.” A status hearing on the indictment will be held Aug. 19 in Barnstable Superior Court.
Outside the courthouse following the verdict, Hession and his defense team, attorneys Frank C. Corso and Paolo G. Corso, and said they had no comment on the verdict.
“We believed in our case,” said Cape and Islands District Attorney Rob Galibois following the verdict. “I want to recognize the victim’s courage to come into court to testify, and we respect the jurors’ verdict.”
Following closing statements made by the defense and prosecution June 14, court was adjourned over the weekend without the jury reaching a verdict. They were then instructed by Gildea to return to court Monday morning at 10:30 a.m. to continue deliberations.
In total, the jury deliberated for five days.
Hession pleads not guilty to charges in 2021
Hession, who served as the parish priest of Our Lady of Victory in Centerville from 2000 to 2014, pleaded not guilty to all charges stemming from his January 2021 indictment.
The defense rested their case on June 13 without calling Hession to the stand. Paolo Corso said June 14 the prosecution’s case against Hession was based on faulty testimony from an uncredible witness, calling the accusations “revisionist history.”
During the defense’s testimony, four witnesses who had worked at Our Lady of Victory testified that they never saw Hession engage in any inappropriate behavior with the accuser.
Prosecuting the case, Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Halprin Isaacs outlined the allegations in closing statements on June 14, underscoring the case is about sexual abuse and a dynamic that functioned on Hession abusing his position of power.
What was the timeline for the allegations?
A 36-year-old man testified June 11 that he was sexually abused in 2002 by the former Cape Cod priest while working on a science class project at the church.
The accuser, who at the time was 13, said Hession raped him, saying he was forced to receive and perform oral sex. At the time, he said he never told anyone about the alleged abuse, saying he trusted Hession and calling him “the closest thing to God.”
The defense focused on the absence of eyewitness testimony supporting the accuser’s claims. Isaacs pointed out some of the witnesses did not know the accuser or did not see Hession in the church often due to conflicting schedules.
What is Hession’s background?
Hession was ordained in 1984 and served at 12 different institutions in the Cape Cod and Fall River areas. In 2009, he delivered the homily at the funeral for U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in Boston.
He has been listed on a “publicly accused” list by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River since 2021. This list includes religious leaders publicly named in media reports and by advocacy groups for alleged sexual abuse of minors.
Hession has been on leave from active ministry since 2019 due to conduct deemed inconsistent with priestly standards, following complaints of inappropriate communications by parishioners at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Seekonk.
Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, primarily focusing on courts, transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base.