BishopAccountability.org
	Priest Arraigned on Abuse Charges The Rev. Frank Genevive, Accused of Raping 2 Boys, Had Worked at Troy Church By Tim O'Brien Albany Times Union [Boston MA] July 25, 2006 http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=502453& category=RENSSELAER&BCCode=LOCAL&newsdate=7/25/2006 A former Capital Region priest faces charges of raping two Albany-area boys he took to Boston with him. The Rev. Frank Genevive was arrested and arraigned Monday in Suffolk County Superior Court in Massachusetts. He was released without bail and must return to court Aug. 7. "Mr. Genevive brought boys and young men he met in his various church duties to Boston," said Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Suffolk County district attorney's office. Genevive, a member of the Franciscan order, worked at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Troy. He also served as chaplain at La Salle Institute. Genevive's current whereabouts and status as a priest could not be immediately confirmed Monday. In 2004, Franciscan officials said Genevive had been sent to the Mount Alvernia friary in Wappingers Falls, Dutchess County. Genevive is facing four felony counts of child rape involving two victims. One victim was allegedly abused between 1977 and 1980, the other between 1987 and 1989. "Both of them were in their early to mid-teens at the time of the offenses," Wark said. Mark Lyman is one of the victims in the case. "It started when I was 13 right up until just before my 18th birthday," Lyman said. "It's significant for me in that I can no longer be referred to as an alleged victim. The people of the commonwealth heard my testimony and came down with three felony charges." In New York state, Lyman has been told the statute of limitations in old child sex abuse cases has passed and charges cannot be brought. Massachusetts has a 15-year statute of limitations for similar charges, but that clock stops when a suspect leaves the state. "Today was a significant day for me and for the other victims, that we are going to see justice served," said Lyman, who is Capital Region director for Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. Last month, a Massachusetts judge dismissed a $5 million lawsuit Lyman filed against the Albany diocese. The judge backed the diocese's contention that Genevive was a Franciscan friar and members of that order are not employees of the Albany diocese. "Lyman has failed to produce any evidence that the diocese employed, paid, controlled or supervised Genevive when he allegedly sexually abused Lyman in Massachusetts," Superior Court Justice Christopher J. Muse wrote in the decision. "Further, Lyman has submitted no evidence that a 'special relationship' existed (between him and the diocese) which would give rise to a fiduciary duty." John Aretakis, the attorney for Lyman and the other victim in the case, said he plans to appeal that decision. "Mark Lyman had to go out of New York state to get justice," Aretakis said. Tim O'Brien can be reached at 454-5096 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.