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	Defense Claims Fairfield Priest Abused Perlitz The Mirror December 13, 2010 http://fairfieldmirror.com/2010/12/13/defense-claims-fairfield-priest-abused-perlitz/ [Defendant's memorandum in aid of sentencing] Less than two weeks before Douglas Perlitz is scheduled to be sentenced, his defense filed a memorandum stating he is a victim in the charges against him for illicit sexual conduct in Haiti. The “Defendants’ Memorandum in Aid of Sentencing” cited that the deep relationship with Fairfield mentor and priest is one of the leading factors that lead to Perlitz’s illegal behaviors in Haiti. In the 32-page document filed to the District Court of Connecticut, the defense describes “a priest” having a significant role in Perlitz’s emotionally unstable status in the “Personal Background” section. The document does not name Rev. Paul Carrier, S.J., who was Perlitz’s mentor and the former Fairfield University director of campus ministry and community service, it only describes a “ priest” who began a long-lasting relationship with Perlitz soon after his first days as an undergraduate at Fairfield University. The document also specifies that this priest played a key role in all of Perlitz’s work in Haiti. The defense states that this priest accompanied Perlitz on his first trip to Haiti as part of a campus group trip and remained an authority figure for the duration of his time at Fairfield. Recorded evidence shows that Paul Carrier is the priest in this relationship who played a key role in Perlitz’s emotionally unstable status. Perlitz states that the relationship with the priest “ultimately took on a dark aspect, both physically and spiritually, that had a significant and long-lasting impact on him.” The defense claims that this relationship does not serve as an excuse but rather an explanation which “eventually led him to ‘cross the line’ as he puts it, and engage in sexual misconduct,” according to the document. The document continues to describe the relationship between this priest and Perlitz as a significant factor in Perlitz’s illegal actions. The relationship revolved around an abuse of power and a violation of trust that Perlitz, in return, projected on the innocent Haitian boys. “It is a sad and all-too-true fact that abusive behavior has a painful circularity to it,” the document states. Perlitz, also a 1996 graduate of Boston College with a Masters degree in Theology, struggled with his sexual identity and a lack of intimacy. His solution to this came in the form of his work with the boys in Haiti. The defense described the nature of his work as a solution that “presented both opportunity and temptation.” After suppressing the need for so long, Perlitz describes in the document how he “crossed the line one night.” This began the repetitive abusive behavior that detached Perlitz from the Jesuit values that had once defined his life. Finally, the document states, “we submit that the proper sentence must recognize both the terrible suffering of the victims in this case, and the exemplary manner in which Doug Perlitz has lived his life.” Perlitz will be sentenced on December 21, 2010 at the New Haven courthouse following a judge’s refusal to grant the defense an extension.
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