Men [of God] at work in Massachusetts
15 Mar 2001
MASSACHUSETTS
BOSTON - Two former parishioners of St. Ann's Church in Dorchester have
filed a lawsuit against a Catholic priest who once served there, accusing
him of sexually molesting them when they were children.
William and Paul Oberle, who are brothers, allege that Fr. Paul Mahan
engaged in a "pattern and practice of explicit sexual behavior and graphic
sexual conversation" with them in 1969, when they were 12 and 7,
respectively.
They allege that Mahan fondled their genitals, spoke to them about
pornography, and offered them pornographic materials, according to the
lawsuit. The Oberles, now 42 and 37, allege that the misconduct usually took
place on Mahan's boat, at the church, and on Boy Scout outings.
The Archdiocese of Boston did not return calls seeking comment on the
Oberles's lawsuit. Mahan, whose last known address was in Arlington, Va.,
could not be reached for comment. According to the Official Catholic
Directory, Mahan was on sick leave in 1997. The 1999 directory no longer
lists him as a priest.
Globe, 3/15/00
-=-
BOSTON - A mother, her son and another man have been charged with trying to
bilk the Archdiocese of Boston out of $850,000 by claiming sexual abuse
against a priest.
Sean Murphy, 35, his mother, Sylvia, 57, and Byron Worth, 41, have been
indicted on conspiracy and attempted larceny charges. The trio claimed that
Worth, Sean Murphy and his brother were sexually abused by a priest when
they were children, said the State Attorney General. In 1998, Sean Murphy
allegedly sought $850,000 from the archdiocese.
Police determined that at the time of the alleged abuse, neither Murphy nor
Worth lived in the community where the abuse supposedly occurred. To support
the scheme, Sylvia Murphy created phony school records showing that the
family had lived in the town more than two decades ago, the DA's office
said.
An archdiocesan spokesman said no payments were made. Murphy's brother,
whose name was not released, was not charged.
AP, 2/25/00
-=-
BOSTON - After years of rage, alleged victims of a defrocked priest shouted
at John J. Geoghan, 64, in court after he pleaded innocent to assaulting two
young boys in the 1980s and 1990s. He also faces 77 civil lawsuits for
alleged abuse.
"You filthy pig," Paul Mendez, now 35 and an alleged victim in one of the
civil cases, shouted as Geoghan was led out of a courtroom. "I hope you burn
in hell," another yelled.
Over the past several years, the Archdiocese of Boston reportedly has paid
millions of dollars to settle nearly two dozen sex abuse claims against
Geoghan, who served as a priest at 5 parishes in Boston, Saugus, Hingham and
Weston between 1962 and 1994.
Geoghan pleaded innocent in to assaulting two children. Later in the day, he
pleaded innocent in another court to improperly touching a third boy at a
youth club.
Though Geoghan is suspected of having molested more than 100 children, these
indictments mark the first time he has been criminally charged. He faces the
possibility of life in prison.
Geoghan, who was stripped of his priestly duties in 1998, also faces dozens
of lawsuits by people who claimed he molested them as far back as the 1960s.
Boston Card. Bernard Law said he was anguished and sickened by the charges.
But he refused to say the Church did anything wrong.
Mendez, a Boston postal worker, said he was abused for 5 years, between the
ages of 9 and 14, at a church.
The judge released Geoghan on personal recognizance, despite saying he found
the facts of the cases "absolutely sickening" and appalling.
According to court documents, a Boston boy was repeatedly raped over the
course of a year in the early 1980s, when he was approximately 7 years old.
Much of the abuse occurred during trips to a high school swimming pool, in
the basement of the priest's family home and in the boy's bedroom,
authorities said.
Another boy was allegedly molested repeatedly in 1995 and 1996 when he was
approximately 10.
AP, 12/10, 12/3
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