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Appeals panel refuses to reduce Geoghan's sentence
By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press, 05/22/02
DEDHAM, Mass. -- An appeals panel on Wednesday refused to reduce defrocked priest John Geoghan's nine- to 10-year sentence for groping a boy, a punishment his lawyer called overly harsh. Geoghan's attorney, Geoffrey Packard, argued that Geoghan, 66, had no prior convictions and was penalized in part due to the massive publicity surrounding his and other cases of priest sex abuse. But the panel dismissed his appeal just hours after hearing arguments. Geoghan was convicted in January of squeezing the buttocks of a 10-year-old boy in a swimming pool in 1991. He was sentenced in February to nine to 10 years, with six years of that to be served in prison, following by life probation. Packard asked the court to reduce his sentence to two years of prison time, with eight years of probation. "I in no way wish to denigrate the seriousness of the charge, but I must say that in the great scheme of things this was perhaps one of the most benign assault and batteries to come before a court or a jury," Packard said during the hearing in Norfolk Superior Court, where the appellate division of the Superior Court sits. Middlesex County prosecutor Lynn Rooney urged the court to preserve the original sentence, which is the maximum allowed under law. She said the sentence was based in part on Geoghan's own admissions he had molested other boys, including four young brothers in the early 1960s and three brothers from another family in the late 1970s. "It is the commonwealth's position that this defendant is a danger to the children of the commonwealth and that the only way children can be protected from this defendant is if he is incapacitated," she said. Packard said he still intends to pursue an appeal of Geoghan's conviction. Geoghan ignited the scandal that forced the Boston archdiocese to release names of priests who have been accused of pedophilia. Since 1995, more than 130 people have claimed Geoghan fondled or raped them during the three decades he served in Boston-area parishes. Earlier this month, the archdiocese of Boston pulled out of a settlement agreement with 86 alleged victims after its finance committee overruled Cardinal Bernard Law and said the archdiocese could not afford the $15 million to $30 million deal. Law was subsequently deposed by attorneys for the plaintiffs in the civil lawsuits. Transcripts of the deposition indicated that Law did not remember key aspects of the case, and relied on subordinates to inform of whether it was appropriate to shift Geoghan between parishes. Also Wednesday, retired priest Ronald Paquin pleaded innocent to three counts of raping an altar boy. Salem Superior Court Judge Nancy Merrick ordered Paquin held on $500,000 bail. The alleged abuse occurred between 1989 and 1992, beginning when the alleged victim was 12. Paquin was arrested at his home earlier this month after prosecutors received a tip that he was preparing to flee. He has admitted in press interviews that he molested boys in Haverhill and Methuen. © Copyright 2002 Boston Globe Electronic Publishing Inc. | Advertise | Contact us | Privacy policy | |
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