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Aug 24, 2003, 02:15 AM
Inmate Kills Pedophile Priest in Prison
Sat August 23, 2003 10:44 PM ET
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
BOSTON (Reuters) - Defrocked priest John Geoghan, a central figure in the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal, was killed on Saturday by a fellow inmate in the prison where he was serving a sentence for child rape, officials said.
Geoghan was apparently strangled, Worcester County District Attorney John Conte said on Saturday.
Geoghan, who had been accused of molesting more than 130 people while serving as a priest in various Boston area parishes, was brought to Leominster Hospital where he died shortly before 2 p.m., said Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections.
Conte's office said Joseph Druce, currently serving a life sentence, will face murder charges in Geoghan's death. An autopsy on Geoghan is planned for Monday.
Geoghan, 68, was sent to the Souza-Baranowski Correction Center in Shirley, Massachusetts, last year after being found guilty of groping a young boy while they were swimming. Nantel said he was held in protective custody to shield him from most other inmates, but he still had contact with some.
Geoghan was defrocked in 1998 and his prosecution helped uncover a string of pedophile cases that shook the Catholic Church around the world and forced Cardinal Bernard Law to resign as Boston's archbishop late last year.
The Archdiocese of Boston is now offering to pay $65 million to settle hundreds of sexual abuse charges filed by young men and women against the church. Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Riley called the scandal "the greatest tragedy to befall children, ever" in the state.
The archdiocese described Geoghan's death as "tragic."
LONG HISTORY OF ABUSE
"The Archdiocese of Boston offers its prayers for the repose of John's soul and extends its prayers and consolation to his beloved sister at this time of personal loss," said Christopher Coyne, a spokesman for the Archdiocese.
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represents many young men who say they were molested by Geoghan, said he was shocked to hear of Geoghan's death. He said Patrick McSorley, one of Geoghan's best known victims, broke into tears at the news.
"My clients would rather have seen John Geoghan be punished in a way seen fit by society," he said. "They would have rather seen him endure the rigors of two more trials and endure the pain of more prison sentences."
Internal Church documents obtained by the media showed that Geoghan's sex abuse history was well known to church officials but that they continued to let him work with children.
The Boston Globe reported last year that Geoghan was removed from four straight parishes between 1974 and 1989 for molesting children.
Last year Geoghan received the maximum sentence of nine to 10 years in prison but was expected to serve only six as the balance of the term was suspended.
Nearly one year ago the Boston Archdiocese settled the cases of 86 of Geoghan's victims for $10 million. Garabedian said he could not comment on whether Geoghan's death might affect the negotiations to settle outstanding sex abuse cases.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3326654
Sat August 23, 2003 10:44 PM ET
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
BOSTON (Reuters) - Defrocked priest John Geoghan, a central figure in the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal, was killed on Saturday by a fellow inmate in the prison where he was serving a sentence for child rape, officials said.
Geoghan was apparently strangled, Worcester County District Attorney John Conte said on Saturday.
Geoghan, who had been accused of molesting more than 130 people while serving as a priest in various Boston area parishes, was brought to Leominster Hospital where he died shortly before 2 p.m., said Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections.
Conte's office said Joseph Druce, currently serving a life sentence, will face murder charges in Geoghan's death. An autopsy on Geoghan is planned for Monday.
Geoghan, 68, was sent to the Souza-Baranowski Correction Center in Shirley, Massachusetts, last year after being found guilty of groping a young boy while they were swimming. Nantel said he was held in protective custody to shield him from most other inmates, but he still had contact with some.
Geoghan was defrocked in 1998 and his prosecution helped uncover a string of pedophile cases that shook the Catholic Church around the world and forced Cardinal Bernard Law to resign as Boston's archbishop late last year.
The Archdiocese of Boston is now offering to pay $65 million to settle hundreds of sexual abuse charges filed by young men and women against the church. Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Riley called the scandal "the greatest tragedy to befall children, ever" in the state.
The archdiocese described Geoghan's death as "tragic."
LONG HISTORY OF ABUSE
"The Archdiocese of Boston offers its prayers for the repose of John's soul and extends its prayers and consolation to his beloved sister at this time of personal loss," said Christopher Coyne, a spokesman for the Archdiocese.
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represents many young men who say they were molested by Geoghan, said he was shocked to hear of Geoghan's death. He said Patrick McSorley, one of Geoghan's best known victims, broke into tears at the news.
"My clients would rather have seen John Geoghan be punished in a way seen fit by society," he said. "They would have rather seen him endure the rigors of two more trials and endure the pain of more prison sentences."
Internal Church documents obtained by the media showed that Geoghan's sex abuse history was well known to church officials but that they continued to let him work with children.
The Boston Globe reported last year that Geoghan was removed from four straight parishes between 1974 and 1989 for molesting children.
Last year Geoghan received the maximum sentence of nine to 10 years in prison but was expected to serve only six as the balance of the term was suspended.
Nearly one year ago the Boston Archdiocese settled the cases of 86 of Geoghan's victims for $10 million. Garabedian said he could not comment on whether Geoghan's death might affect the negotiations to settle outstanding sex abuse cases.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3326654