Salesian Brothers' ex-chief pleads not guilty in child-rape case; priest arrest...

Page 1 of 3

Salesian Brothers' ex-chief pleads not guilty in child-rape case; priest arrested in New Rochelle
Written by | Staff and wire reports Nov 10

lohud.com

The former head of the New Rochelle-based Salesian Brothers eastern division pleaded not guilty Friday in Massachusetts to five charges that he raped a boy 30 years ago who prosecutors said hid in the woods, on a fire escape and under a bed to escape the priest. The Rev. Richard McCormick, 71, of the Salesian Brothers of Don Bosco, who was arrested Thursday in New Rochelle, was released on $1,000 cash bail. He could not secure the money by a 1 p.m. deadline and was taken for a time to a jail. Prosecutor Kate MacDougall said in Salem Superior Court the alleged assaults took place in Ipswich in 1981 and 1982 when the victim, whose birthday is in July, was roughly between 9 and 11. They occurred at a summer camp the Salesians ran at a retreat center that since has been closed. MacDougall, who had sought bail of $75,000, said the boy was abused by McCormick in his dorm room and in the camps office. The boy allegedly was targeted because he didnt have a father who was active in his life. She said the victim would hide from McCormick in the woods, on a fire escape and under his older brothers bunk. McCormick stood with his head bowed as MacDougall made her comments. This is the first time he has been criminally charged but the priest was accused of sexually abusing numerous boys in past civil cases. Ipswich police made the arrest at the Salesian Provincial Residence Thursday, said Carrie Kimball Monahan, a spokeswoman for the Essex, Mass., District Attorneys Office. The police and D.A.s office conducted a year-long investigation after being contacted by the alleged victim. The statute of limitations in Massachusetts is 27 years after a victim turns 16, though the clock stops when the alleged abuser is out of the state, she said. Conditions of McCormicks release include that he is to continue living at the Salesian Provincial Residence, have no unsupervised contact with minors and have no presence or role in New Rochelles Salesian High School for boys. He is required to phone the Superior Court Probation Office weekly and appear in person for every court date, the court clerks office said. His next appearance is set for Oct. 23. Judge Timothy Feeley designated the Rev. Steven Dumais, vice provincial for the Salesians in New Rochelle and director of the Provincial Residence on East Main Street, as McCormicks custodian. Dumais told the judge McCormick has been restricted from public ministry since 2008 and spends his time at the headquarters helping in the kitchen and with maintenance projects as well as working on the Salesians archives. He is barred from having contact with children and has 24-7 supervision of all his activities, Dumais said.

http://www.lohud.com/viewart/20120901/NEWS02/309010053/Salesian-B... 11/11/2012

Salesian Brothers' ex-chief pleads not guilty in child-rape case; priest arrest... Page 2 of 3

Dumais, who is also the victim assistance coordinator for the Salesians in his province, said in court he is kind of torn in different ways by the allegations against McCormick. The Salesians have not tried to remove McCormick from the priesthood, Dumais said. I support (McCormick) with a full heart, but I support the victim with a full heart as well, he told reporters outside the courthouse. Its a family, and when familys in trouble, you try to support them as best you can. Boston lawyer Stephen Neyman, who is representing McCormick, said he could not comment on the case. Boston lawyer Mitchell Garabedian, who has represented hundreds of alleged clergy sex-abuse victims, is the accusers civil representative. My client should be proud of himself for having the courage to come forward and proceed criminally, he said. He said there is no civil lawsuit pending against McCormick. Garabedian negotiated a 2009 financial settlement on behalf of three men who said they had been sexually abused by McCormick in the late 1970s, when they were students at the now-closed Salesian Junior Seminary in Goshen. McCormick was director of the seminary for several years. The order did not admit or deny liability. Garabedian said at the time that three other men had come forward to make abuse claims against the priest. The attorney said he has settled nine civil cases brought by people nationwide who alleged they were abused by McCormick between 1963 and 1982. The Salesians are the second-largest Catholic religious order in the world, founded by St. John Bosco, an Italian priest, in 1859 to serve poor and abandoned children. The Eastern Province, which includes all Salesian activities and personnel east of the Mississippi River and throughout Canada, is based in New Rochelle. In 2002, McCormick resigned from teaching at St. Petersburg Catholic High School in Florida after a female student complained that he greeted her with a kiss and hug in a school hallway. McCormick served as provincial of the Eastern Province during the early 1990s. He was director of the Marian Shrine in Stony Point from 1983 to 1985 and directed a program for Salesian lay missioners during the late 1980s. Road to Recovery, a New Jersey-based advocacy group, issued a statement thanking the alleged victim for reporting his story to police, and law enforcement for following through on the complaint. The organization said it has worked with many of the nearly dozen men who have claimed sexual abuse by McCormick. The statement called for the Society of Don Bosco to divulge the names of all Salesian priests accused of sexual abuse and appeal to victims to report any sexual abuse.

http://www.lohud.com/viewart/20120901/NEWS02/309010053/Salesian-B... 11/11/2012

Salesian Brothers' ex-chief pleads not guilty in child-rape case; priest arrest... Page 3 of 3

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a Salesian priest, is secretary of state of the Vatican and should be calling for thorough investigations in each and every country in which Salesian priests and brothers work in order to find and help heal victims of childhood sexual abuse, the statement said. The Salesians of Don Bosco are the same order that recently accused a former financial adviser of misdirecting a multimillion-dollar investment in a fraudulent scheme and refusing to return the money. In a lawsuit filed July 10 in state Supreme Court in White Plains, the Salesian Society alleged that Benchmark Asset Managers, Otto Sam Folin and 3 Sisters Sustainable Management wrongfully directed most of the Salesians $4 million account to inappropriate investments while promising the religious order that the money would be placed in safe, socially responsible investments that could be withdrawn quickly. McCormicks arrest came on the same day the high-profile Rev. Benedict Groeschel sparked outrage when the National Catholic Register published a story in which he said priests accused of child sex abuse often are seduced by their accusers. He subsequently issued a statement apologizing for his remarks. Groeschel founded Trinity Retreat in Larchmont in 1974 to provide counseling for troubled clergy. He helped start the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in 1987. The Salem Evening News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.lohud.com/viewart/20120901/NEWS02/309010053/Salesian-B... 11/11/2012