Decision on sex offender treatment delayed
By Danielle Williamson/ Milford DAILY NEWS STAFF
An ailing, retired Bellingham priest convicted last year of sexual abuse remains in Canada while awaiting a court date to see if he can skip sex offender treatment.
The Rev. Paul Desilets, 82, formerly of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, was scheduled to appear in front of a judge last Friday in Worcester Superior Court. His defense team, however, moved to postpone the hearing and a new date has not been set, one of Desilets' lawyers said yesterday.
A judge was expected last week to decide on Desilets' lawyers motion to spend the rest of his life at a retirement home in Quebec.
"He's almost an invalid," Desilets' Boston lawyer, Dennis Kelly, said in October. "Going through a sex offender rehabilitation program makes no sense to him. He's thousands of miles away and won't be leaving the infirmary."
Acceptance of Kelly's motion will allow Desilets who spent 1<+>1<+>/<->2<-> years in state prison after pleading guilty last May to six charges of assault and battery and 26 counts of indecent assault and battery to avoid mandated sex offender treatment.
During sentencing last year, Judge Timothy Hillman ordered Desilets to serve 10 years probation after his release from prison. As part of his probation, Desilets was to have no contact with his victims, no unsupervised contact with children under 18, and undergo sex offender treatment.
Desilets' lawyers have argued for the sex offender treatment to be dropped because their client is too old and physically ill. Completing the treatment, Kelly said, would be unnecessary and a waste of resources.
"Going through a sex offender rehabilitation program makes no sense for him," Kelly said. "He has no assets he took a vow of poverty when he was 16. He'd be a significant drain on the state of Massachusetts by either being a street person or on welfare."
In previous interviews, Desilets' victims have expressed outrage that their abuser may not fulfill his original probation requirements.
One victim, a former altar boy, said in October he did not care how old or sick Desilets was.
"You have to pay for the crime you committed, I don't care if you're 17 or 90," said Joseph Fleuette, 42, of Bellingham.
Since his October release, a judge has let Desilets remain under the supervision of a Canadian cleric at a retirement home in Quebec, a spokesman with Worcester County District Attorney John Conte's office has said.
Desilets signed an extradition waiver and was told in October to return to Worcester Superior Court in December for a final decision on the sex offender treatment request.
"There's been no change in the conditions of his release," said Paul Mastrocola, another one of Desilets' lawyers. "Father Desilets remains at the location he was ordered to go to."
Desilets moved to Les Clercs de St. Viteaur in Quebec where he is currently housed in 1984, and was arrested there in October 2002 after police investigated abuse allegations.
Desilets fought extradition for three years before returning to the United States in April 2005 to face charges he abused 18 altar boys at the now-closed Bellingham parish between 1978 and 1984.
He pleaded guilty to the charges within 20 days of his first court appearance.
Danielle Williamson can be reached at 508-634-7552 or dwilliam@cnc.com.
October 24, 2006
Desilets out of jail
By Danielle
Williamson/ Daily News Staff
A retired Bellingham priest convicted last year of abusing 18 altar
boys decades ago was released from prison yesterday and will return
to court this winter to learn whether he can skip mandated sex
offender treatment.
The Rev. Paul Desilets, 82, was sentenced in Worcester Superior Court last May to 1 to 1 1/2 years at MCI-Cedar Junction after pleading guilty to six charges of assault and battery and 26 counts of indecent assault and battery.
The former Our Lady of the Assumption Parish priest served 17 months before being released yesterday and placed under the supervision of a Canadian cleric, a spokesman with Worcester County District Attorney John Conte’s office said.
Desilets, who is going back to his retirement home in Canada, signed a waiver of extradition and is scheduled to return to court Dec. 22, the spokesman said. A judge will decide at the December hearing whether to grant Desilets’ request to be excused from sex offender treatment because he is old and physically ill.
Desilets’ lawyer, Dennis J. Kelly of Boston, could not be reached for comment yesterday. In previous interviews, he has said his client suffers from many health problems including vertigo, anemia and after-effects of childhood polio.
"His lawyer is doing a good job for his client in trying every possible maneuver to get the easiest sentence," said Ann Hagan Webb of Wellesley, New England co-coordinator of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
"But (Desilets) is a man who ruined the lives of 18 boys. Why should his punishment be a year-and-a-half, then he gets to die in peace? That doesn’t seem like justice to me," she said.
One of Desilets’ victims expressed displeasure yesterday that his abuser may not complete treatment as originally ordered.
"I don’t care what his age is," said Joseph Fleuette, 42, of Bellingham, who was an altar boy for Desilets. "You have to pay for the crime you committed, I don’t care if you’re 17 or 90."
During sentencing last year, Judge Timothy Hillman ordered Desilets to serve 10 years probation after his release from prison. As part of his probation, Desilets was to have no contact with his victims, no unsupervised contact with children under 18, and undergo sex offender treatment.
"I accepted his prison sentence, and that alleviated a lot of the pain," Fleuette said. "But if (mandated treatment) doesn’t happen, what good is our judicial system?"
After his release yesterday, Desilets headed to a Canadian retirement home for clergy with Hubert Hamelin, assistant provincial superior of Les Clercs de St. Viteaur in Quebec. Desilets moved to this retirement home in 1984, and was arrested there in October 2002.
Desilets fought extradition for three years before returning to the United States in April 2005 to face charges he abused 18 former altar boys at the now-closed Bellingham parish between 1978 and 1984.
He pleaded guilty to the charges within 20 days of his first court appearance
Fleuette said he is doubtful Desilets will return to the United States to fulfill the conditions of his probation, despite signing an extradition waiver.
"This is going to drag on until this man is dead," Fleuette said.
Danielle Williamson can be reached at 508-634-7552 or dwilliam@cnc.com.
Priest who abused boys freed
By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gmurray@telegram.com
WORCESTER— An 82-year-old retired priest released from state prison
yesterday after serving a sentence for sexually assaulting altar
boys at a Bellingham parish more than 20 years ago will be allowed
to return to his religious order in Canada.
Judge Jeffrey A. Locke has not yet ruled on whether the Rev. Paul M.
Desilets, now on probation, will still be required to undergo
sex-offender treatment, as previously ordered by the court.
Rev. Desilets was sentenced to 1 to 1-1/2 years in state prison on
May 11, 2005, after pleading guilty in Worcester Superior Court to
multiple counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, indecent
assault and battery and assault and battery. The Catholic priest
admitted assaulting 18 male victims from 1978 to 1984, when they
were altar boys at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Bellingham
and he was associate pastor.
In addition to imposing the state prison sentence under a plea
agreement in the case, Judge Timothy S. Hillman, now a federal
magistrate judge, placed Rev. Desilets on probation for 10 years, to
begin upon his release from custody. As conditions of probation,
Rev. Desilets was ordered to stay away from his victims, to have no
unsupervised contact with anyone under age 18 and to undergo a
sex-offender evaluation and any related treatment recommended by the
court’s Probation Department.
Last Wednesday, five days before Rev. Desilets was scheduled to be
released from the state prison in Shirley upon completion of his
sentence, his lawyer filed a motion asking that the conditions of
the retired cleric’s probation be amended. Lawyer Dennis J. Kelly
asked that Rev. Desilets be excused from sex-offender counseling
because of his advanced age and failing health and that he be
allowed to move to Canada to live in an infirmary at his religious
order, Les Clercs de St. Viateur in Joliette, province of Quebec.
Mr. Kelley also requested that Rev. Desilets’ probation be changed
from supervised to administrative, which would allow him to report
to his probation officer by mail or telephone, rather than in
person.
Chief Probation Officer Thomas A. Turco III told Judge Locke last
week that he was trying to determine whether probation officials in
Canada would be willing to take over supervision of Rev. Desilets’
case. Mr. Turco said Rev. Desilets should be required to complete
the sex offender treatment across the border if Canada agreed to
accept the transfer of supervision.
Assistant Chief Probation Officer Jean M. Orawsky told the judge
yesterday that her office had still not received an answer to its
transfer request. Ms. Orawsky also told Judge Locke it was likely
that Rev. Desilets, whose plans to live with a relative after his
release from prison fell through, would end up living in a shelter
without monitoring or medical assistance if he were not allowed to
move back to Canada. Rev. Desilets was extradited from Canada in
2005 after being indicted in 2002.
The retired priest appeared in court yesterday in a wheelchair.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
By Gary V. Murray
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER
-- He could not recall the names or faces of all of the 18
men who have accused him of sexually assaulting them more
than 20 years ago, when they were altar boys at Our Lady of
the Assumption parish in Bellingham and he was the associate
pastor.
But 82-year-old retired priest Paul M. Desilets said he did
remember the unlawful conduct that led to the charges
against him.
Rev. Desilets was sentenced to 1 to 1-1/2 years in state
prison yesterday, after pleading guilty in Worcester
Superior Court to 16 counts of indecent assault and battery
on a child under the age of 14, 10 counts of indecent
assault and battery and 6 counts of assault and battery.
In addition to imposing the prison sentence, Judge Timothy
S. Hillman placed Rev. Desilets on probation for 10 years,
to begin upon his release from custody. The sentence handed
down was recommended by Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey
T. Travers and Rev. Desilets’ lawyer, Dennis J. Kelly.
Gaunt, unshaven and reportedly in poor health, Rev. Desilets
appeared to nod off at times during the court proceedings,
prompting Judge Hillman to ask on more than one occasion if
he was awake and understood what he was doing. Rev. Desilets
responded affirmatively and his lawyer reassured the court
that his client was fully cognizant of what was going on,
despite being a little tired.
Rev. Desilets was indicted in 2002, and was extradited from
Canada April 22 to face the sexual assault charges. He was
ordered held on $100,000 cash bail after his return. While
in custody, he was hospitalized, reportedly suffering from
diabetes and the effects of childhood polio.
The offenses to which he pleaded guilty yesterday occurred
from 1978 to 1984, while Rev. Desilets was assigned to the
Bellingham parish. Mr. Travers said the 18 victims were
sexually assaulted by Rev. Desilets on or around church
property.
Had the case gone to trial, Mr. Travers told the judge, the
victims would have testified that Rev. Desilets sexually
assaulted them by touching their buttocks and genitals,
either over or under their clothing. The prosecutor said the
victims, who were identified only by their initials and
dates of birth, did not consent to the priest’s sexual
advances.
Several of the victims were in court yesterday. One read
from a poem titled The Betrayal, that he said he had written
and dedicated to the survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
You’ve shattered young lives at the cost of your soul … This
is something even the angels can never forgive.
Another victim read from an impact statement in which he
decried what he said was the great injustice he had suffered
at the hands of Rev. Desilets and the Catholic church. I
have lost faith in the Catholic church, but I have not lost
faith in God.
In urging Judge Hillman to adopt the sentence he and Mr.
Travers had proposed, Mr. Kelly said his client wished to
accept responsibility for his misconduct. Mr. Kelly said
there have been no similar allegations against Rev. Desilets
since his move to Canada in 1985.
Rev. Desilets also apologized to the court and to his
victims, saying in a barely audible voice, I’m sorry for
what happened.
One victim later said the apology meant little to him and
that he felt no sense of closure from Rev. Desilets’ guilty
pleas.
I have a lot of empathy for old people, but for him I have
no empathy. He’s been haunting my dreams for years, said
another victim. He said he was 9 years old when he was first
molested by Rev. Desilets.
Rev. Desilets was given credit for 17 days he spent in
custody while his case was pending. As conditions of
probation, he was ordered to have no contact with the
victims, and no unsupervised contact with anyone under the
age of 18. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender
and to undergo any sex-offender counseling deemed
appropriate by the Probation Department.
David Clohessy of St. Louis, national director of Survivors
Network of Those Abuse by Priests, lauded the efforts made
by law enforcement to extradite Rev. Desilets. We also hope
that this move will inspire other prosecutors to more
aggressively seek the extradition of dozens of other proven,
admitted and credibly accused abusive priests who have fled
the country.
Mr. Clohessy said the organization, which supports and
advocates for victims of clergy abuse, is grateful that Rev.
Desilets pleaded guilty, and hopes this provides some
comfort and consolation to his victims and their families.
The director, who is also a clergy abuse survivor, said they
hope that other alleged victims of Rev. Desilets come
forward and get the healing they need and deserve.
He said there is no magic age when a serial predator stops
molesting minors. He urged people to remain vigilant around
the priest. Even very elderly molesters have been caught
hurting children.
Kathleen A. Shaw of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed
to this report
Desilets arrested
in Canada -
Ex-Bellingham priest to be arraigned today
Kathleen A. Shaw, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
WORCESTER -- The Rev. Paul M. Desilets, 78, accused of molesting
several boys in Bellingham before heading to Canada, was arrested
yesterday by Canadian police in Joliette, Quebec.
He is scheduled to be arraigned today in Canada.
District Attorney
John J. Conte, who began the extradition process several months ago,
said the arrest resulted from an international extradition request
he made in August.
Rev. Desilets is a priest with the Clerics of St. Viator, a French
order with branches in many countries, including the United States.
He was indicted April 12 and again May 15 by a Worcester County
grand jury. A total of 32 indictments were returned against him.
Bellingham is in the Boston archdiocese, but falls within Mr.
Conte's jurisdiction.
The indictments charge 16 counts of indecent assault and battery on
a child under 14; 10 charges of indecent assault and battery on a
person 14 or older; and six charges of assault and battery.
Rev. Desilets was a priest from 1978 to 1984 at Our Lady of the
Assumption parish in Bellingham, where the alleged incidents
happened. A 10-year statute of limitations in effect at the time was
suspended when Rev. Desilets left the state and moved to Canada in
1984.
He has been living at a retirement home in Quebec. He had refused
recent requests for comment, but in February told a reporter that
allegations against him were ``exaggerated.''
According to personnel documents released by the Archdiocese of
Boston in June, Desilets once told an altar boy he would ``burn in
hell'' if he reported their contact.
Because of a Canadian extradition treaty with the United States, the
extradition process should not be too complicated, Lawyers Weekly
USA editor Paul Martinek said.
After Desilets' arraignment in Canadian federal court, Massachusetts
must ask the U.S. Justice Department to request Canada's Justice
Department for extradition, Martinek said. The Canadian federal
judge will decide whether, when, and how to complete the
extradition, which has to be finally approved by the Canadian
Justice Minister.
A total of 18 of the alleged victims, former altar boys in the
parish, presented evidence to Detectives Richard Perry and
Christopher Ferreira of the Bellingham Police Department.
Jeffrey Newman, a Boston-area lawyer representing some of the
alleged victims, told The Associated Press that his clients would be
extremely relieved to hear that Rev. Desilets could be extradited.
``They've waited a long time; he was indicted this summer,'' he
said. ``Obviously, the district attorney has taken this very
seriously because it's complex to go through the treaties between
countries. It would have been easy to let it lie low, but they
didn't do that.''
Besides the Bellingham detectives, Mr. Conte credited Bellingham
Police Chief Gerald A. Daigle, Massachusetts State Trooper Thomas
Ryan, his supervisor, Lt. Francis Moore of the detective unit
assigned to Mr. Conte's office, and Canadian law enforcement for
their efforts.
October 22, 2002
Ex-Bellingham priest accused of sex abuse held in Canada
Tom Mashberg, Boston Herald
A former Bellingham priest indicted in Worcester County on 32 counts of child molestation was arrested in Canada yesterday after a complex international prosecution effort initiated by the Worcester County District Attorney's office.
The Rev. Paul M.
Desilets, 78, was seized in Joliet, Quebec, and is scheduled to be
arraigned there today, according to Worcester DA John J. Conte.
There was no word on when he might be extradited.
Desilets allegedly abused 18 altar boys between 1978 and 1984 while
serving at Bellingham's Our Lady of Assumption Parish, which is in
the Archdiocese of Boston. Desilets is a Springfield native who
moved to Canada in 1963 and was ordained as a priest with the
Clerics of St. Viator, a Catholic order.
He later served for about a decade, in the 1970s and '80s, in Bay
State parishes, departing for Quebec under a cloud in 1985 to serve
in the Valley Field Diocese in Rigaud. Some 36 New England men have
come forward this year to accuse him of repeatedly fondling their
genitals in parish basements.
According to personnel documents released by the archdiocese in
June, Desilets once told an altar boy he would "burn in hell" if he
reported the contact. Desilets has refused in recent months to
comment on the charges, but in a telephone interview with the Herald
in April, he said, "Isn't there a statute of limitations on such
things?"
Jeffrey A. Newman, attorney for most of Desilets' alleged victims,
said his clients are pleased the complex process of international
arrest and extradition is working.
"They've waited a long time," Newman said. "He was indicted this
summer. The district attorney has taken this very seriously, because
it's complex to go through the treaties between countries."
Newman said his clients were "flabbergasted but ecstatic" to learn
that Desilets has been arrested. He said they were worried the
process would drag on for years.
Although a statute of limitations exists on Massachusetts sex-abuse
charges, authorities here say the clock froze after Desilets crossed
state lines to return to Canada.
April 13, 2002
FORMER BELLINGHAM PRIEST INDICTED
David Arnold, Globe Staff
A former
associate pastor at Assumption Parish in Bellingham was indicted
yesterday by a Worcester County grand jury on charges that he
molested 18 boys while serving at that church between 1978 and 1984.
It is one of the few cases in the sexual abuse scandal involving
priests in which the statute of limitations will not hinder
prosecution, because the retired priest had left the country shortly
after the alleged assaults.
Extradition
proceedings against Paul M. Desilets, 78, of Rigaud, Quebec, will
begin immediately, according to law enforcement officials. They were
alerted to the allegations in January, when a number of men came
forward to report they had been sexually assaulted by the priest
when they were boys. It's the second indictment in Massachusetts of
a Roman Catholic priest since the January conviction of defrocked
pedophile priest John J. Geoghan.
"It's a first step. Now we have to get him back and into court. I
won't feel justice until he's living in a little square cell made of
cement, and he's as uncomfortable as he has made a lot of us," said
James Corriveau, 34, of Bellingham, a former altar boy who was
allegedly molested by Desilets.
The grand jury indicted Desilets on 27 counts of indecent assault
and battery, 16 involving children under 14 years of age, Worcester
District Attorney John J. Conte said. Prosecutors said some of the
children were as young as 8 when the assaults began.
In recent months, 20 men, including Corriveau and his brother,
Brian, have filed civil suits against Desilets and the Archdiocese
of Boston alleging that they were molested by the priest and church
leaders did not intercede, according to Boston attorney Jeffrey A.
Newman, who represents the victims.
"Some of Desilets' victims were very badly damaged," Newman said.
"Some of them have attempted suicide. And where did he go from here?
Right up to Canada, where he oversaw youth programs."
Neither Desilets nor a spokeswoman for the archdiocese could be
reached for comment last night.
Desilets was raised in Canada and ordained as a priest in 1963 by
the order of the Clerics of Saint Viator. He served as associate
pastor at the Assumption Parish in Bellingham from 1974 to 1984, but
he took an unexplained leave of absence in 1980.
The Corriveau brothers allege in their suit that the archdiocese
transferred Desilets after learning of sexual abuse allegations
against him. In 1984, Desilets left Bellingham for Rigaud, Quebec.
In February, the Woonsocket Call of Rhode Island located Desilets in
Rigaud, and he told the paper: "Alzheimer's was creeping up" so he
could not recall what happened in Bellingham. In another interview,
he told the Boston Herald he recalled the names of some of his
accusers but dismissed their allegations as "exaggerations." Later,
he asked: "Isn't there a statute of limitations?"
In 1984, the statute of limitations for Desilets' alleged crimes was
six years. The clock stopped because he went to Canada. So any crime
from 1978 to 1984 can be prosecuted, according to law enforcement
officials.
"I think of that man and I think of hate, depression, and evil,"
said James Corriveau, who stressed that the plaintiffs were not
"gold-diggers" but people who want to see Desilets and the church
brought to justice. He declined to elaborate on the details of the
alleged abuse he says he suffered as an altar boy.
"I will say this," he added. "It was sexual fondling in a sadistic
manner."