Lawyer Names West Roxbury Church Choir Director As Abuser

By Julie M. Cohen
Wicked Local Roslindale
September 5, 2013

http://www.wickedlocal.com/roslindale/news/x1803824951/Lawyer-names-West-Roxbury-church-choir-director-as-abuser

Six Roman Catholic clerics and a choir director who taught at a West Roxbury church were named publicly as alleged abusers for the first time by a prominent lawyer for clergy sex abuse victims, according to our news partners at WCVB.

William Emmett O'Brien, who died in 2004 on Cape Cod at the age of 72, was a West Roxbury resident and the children's choir director at St. John Chrysostom Church in West Roxbury at the time of the incidents, attorney Mitchell Garabedian said.

Garabedian released the names of the five priests, one nun and O’Brien on Wednesday.

Each of the alleged victims is a client of Garabedian's and all their cases were settled within the last year for amounts ranging from the high five figures to the low six figures, he said.

In a phone interview on Thursday Garabedian said O’Brien abused his client from 1968-’74. His client, who was a choirboy from Roslindale, was abused 100 times from the ages of 11-16, according to Garabedian. The abuse took place at the church, O’Brien’s car and apartment, New York and Canada, Garabedian said.

The client, who is now in his 50s and lives out of state, met O’Brien when he was 10, said Garabedian. The first time he was abused in 1968, O’Brien had given the boy whiskey and showed him pornography, Garabedian said.

The Archdiocese of Boston paid the settlement – which was in the high five figures - in December 2012, Garabedian said.

“Receiving a monetary sum is validation for a client. It helps them heal. … Although the Archdiocese is paying money, they are not admitting liability,” said Garabedian.

Earlier this year a second victim came forward who said O’Brien also abused him, Garabedian said. He is also representing the second man.

Terry Donilon, a spokesman for the Boston Archdiocese, did not answer a question about O'Brien, who was a layman.

Donilon said the archdiocese remains dedicated to restoring trust and "implementing our significant policies and practices for the protection of children."

No one was immediately available to comment at St. John Chrysostom Church on Thursday.

Garabedian periodically releases new names publicly, and is highly critical of Catholic church officials for what he says is their refusal to consistently do so.

He said the public disclosures are needed to help victims heal and also as a matter of public safety, if the alleged abuser is still alive.

Garabedian said it is also a reminder that, despite decreased media coverage, the clergy sex abuse crisis is ongoing.

"I don't expect it to ever end," Garabedian said.

At least four of the seven previously unnamed people on Garabedian's list are deceased, including O’Brien. All four worked in the Boston Archdiocese during the alleged abuse, which occurred between 1963 and 1985.

Aside from O’Brien, the others named include the Rev. Alan Caparella, a Franciscan, who worked at St. Leonard's of Port Maurice Parish in Boston; Brother Paul White, a Capuchin, who worked at St. Lawrence Friary in Milton; and the Rev. Joseph Maffei, of the Salesians of Don Bosco, who worked at Sacred Heart Retreat House in Ipswich.

Terry Donilon, a spokesman for the Boston Archdiocese, referred questions about the other priests to their religious orders, which he said would have handled any claims. The orders either didn't comment or didn't know anything about the priests.

White's alleged victim said White abused her in the late 1960s when she was about 9 and he was living in Milton.

The woman said White would sometimes take her and her brother ice skating at a local pond and on one occasion, he put her on his lap, reached under her clothes and fondled her chest. She said he cut her deeply with his nails as she struggled and broke free.

"I have a permanent scar that reminds me every single day of what happened," she said in an interview.

The woman said the incident robbed her of her innocence: "And once it's gone, it's gone." Speaking about it is part of healing, and can show other sex abuse victims they aren't alone so they seek help, she said.

"I'm in the club, sadly," she said.

The others named by Garabedian on Wednesday include:

The Rev. Vincent Inghilterra, who was chaplain at Trenton State Teachers College in New Jersey when he allegedly abused a minor in the 1970s.

Sister Agnes Daniels, who worked at St. Mary school in Boston when she allegedly committed the abuse.

The Rev. Victor Phelan, who worked in the African countries of Burkina Faso and Ghana.

Attempts to determine the whereabouts of Phelan, Daniels and Inghilterra weren't successful.

A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Trenton, Rayanne Bennett, said in May, a review board found the charge against Inghilterra credible and Bishop David M. O'Connell suspended him from priestly ministry anywhere.

Inghilterra hasn't ministered in Trenton, N.J., for 30 years, and the diocese has notified anyone involved in his ministry outside Trenton, Bennett said.

"We also release names of all accused priests, living or dead, to law enforcement," she said.