BishopAccountability.org
	2nd Accuser of Priest Comes Forward Schenectady-- Man Says Da Told Him Statute of Limitations Had Run out for Allegation against the Rev. Alan Jupin By Andrew Tilghman Albany Times Union [Albany NY] June 25, 2003 The 38-year-old construction worker whose friends call him Glenn said he thought about it for a few weeks and finally decided to call Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney. Glenn told the prosecutor that he was molested decades ago by the Rev. Alan Jupin, a Schenectady priest. Glenn, who asked that his full name not be used, is the second person to publicly accuse Jupin of sexual abuse. Carney had already started an investigation into another man's allegation that Jupin stalked him after he accused the priest this year of past sexual abuse. Carney listened to his story, Glenn said, but told him it had little bearing on the prosecutor's investigation. "He seemed genuinely concerned, but said his hands were tied. He explained that the statute of limitations had run out and there wasn't much he could do," said Glenn, who has two daughters, wears his hair in a pony tail and owns a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. "He gave me the number of Theresa Rodrigues," Glenn said. Rodrigues is the victims/survivors assistance coordinator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. Carney said Tuesday that he does not comment on ongoing investigations. Others said the probe continues into whether Jupin molested a teenager in the late 1970s and last year tried to intimidate him to prevent him from pursuing a complaint. Carney's investigation marks the first time a Capital Region prosecutor has waded into the 18-month-old clergy abuse scandal in the Albany diocese. Prosecutors around the nation continue to wrestle with how to handle allegations of misconduct by priests and the clerics who oversee them. The investigation was prompted by a $600,000 lawsuit filed in May in state Supreme Court alleging that Jupin in February and March stalked the man he had abused as a teenager more than 20 years ago. Church officials requested the government investigation into the allegations, which they have denied. On Friday, the man who filed the lawsuit, a 44-year-old teacher from Schenectady, met for the first time with a Schenectady County prosecutor, said the man's attorney, John Aretakis. The man provided Assistant District Attorney Susan Polsinelli with copies of his phone records to support his allegations that he received dozens of hang-up calls in March shortly after he lodged his complaint with the Albany Diocese, Aretakis said. While the man sued using the name John Doe, the criminal investigation may force him to identify himself publicly. "It's something I want to avoid, but if it is not avoidable, so be it," he said this week. The lawsuit led Bishop Howard Hubbard to place three priests on leave. Jupin; the Rev. Donald Ophals, former pastor at St. Francis DeSales in Troy; and the Rev. Louis Douglas, who left St. Catherine of Siena in 1992, have denied the allegations. During the past year, Hubbard has removed at least 13 priests from public ministry due to allegations of sexual misconduct. The diocese recently began advertisements urging victims to reach out to the church. Jupin's attorney, Dan Stewart of Albany, did not return a call for comment. News reports of Carney's inquiry prompted Glenn to contact the district attorney's office. New York state criminal law requires victims of child sexual abuse to come forward before the age of 23. He said he has no intention of contacting church officials. Carney also told Glenn he has civil options, which he said he is seriously considering. "I either get a lawyer or I go track him down myself -- and I can't do that because I got two kids," Glenn said.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.