Latest Sex Offender Notice from Chicopee Police Includes Defrocked Roman Catholic Priest

By Patrick Johnson
The Republican
February 8, 2016

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/02/chicopee_police_alert_public_t.html

Richard Lavigne, left, and Robert Lamontagne.

CHICOPEE - Police on Monday released information on two registered Level 3 sex offenders residing in Chicopee as a way to alert the community of their presence.

Neither man is wanted for any crimes, and police warn against harassing either of them.

One of the two names, Richard Lavigne, is likely to be familiar to people in the area.

Lavigne, 74, is a defrocked Roman Catholic priest who was pleaded guilty in 1992 to two counts of molestation of a minor and was given a 10-year probation sentence.

He was also the only publicly identified suspect in the 1972 murder of Springfield alterboy Daniel Croteau. That slaying remains unsolved.

All people convicted of sex offenses are required to register with the state Sex Offenders Registry Board. The board then assigns a ranking based on the likelihood an offender will commit additional sex crimes. A level 3 offender is considered most likely to re-offend.

According to state law, sex offenders must register annually with their local police department annually and provide an address for where they live and work. They also have to register each time they move. Offenders with no permanent address need to register with police every 30 days.