Paul Shanley, convicted child rapist and former priest, released from prison

By Emily Sweeney And John R. Ellement
BostGlobe
July 28, 2017

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/07/28/paul-shanley-convicted-child-rapist-and-former-priest-expected-released/h8s8dEz59OAWuG1QrcQKDK/story.html

BRIDGEWATER - Convicted child rapist and former Roman Catholic priest Paul R. Shanley was released Friday after spending 12 years behind bars for raping a boy in Newton in the 1980s, a crime that emerged during the church’s pedophile priest scandal.

“Paul Shanley was released from Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, MA. on July 28, 2017 upon expiration of sentence,’’ Cara Savelli, a Department of Correction spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail.

Shanley’s release was opposed by Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan’s office, which sought to have the 86-year-old civilly committed as a sexually dangerous person. But two experts who examined Shanley concluded he did not meet the stringent legal and psychological criteria.

Shanley will be on probation for the next 10 years.

While Shanley was deemed not to be a sexually dangerous person that could have led to his being civilly committed for the rest of his life, the Sex Offender Registry Board has already reviewed his case and his crimes and concluded he is a Level 3 sex offender, considered the most likely to reoffend.

According to the board, Shanley will be living at 31 Pualski St. in Ware. The board has posted a photograph of Shanley and information about his criminal history information on the publicly available portion of its website.

A top Ware town official said Friday she was unaware that the convicted sex offender was moving to town of about 10,000 residents in Hampshire County.

“I have concerns, but I’m sure that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has taken the appropriate steps to ensure that everyone within the community, as well as Mr. Shanley, will be protected,” Nancy J. Talbot, the Ware chair of the local select board and the town clerk

She declined to say whether she felt Shanley should have been released or civilly committed upon the completion of his prison term.

“I know the Commonwealth has protections in place, and there is the ability to monitor individuals such as Mr. Shanley,” Talbot said.

Shanley’s release was denounced earlier this week by some of his victims and by their attorneys, Carmen Durso and Mitchell Garabedian, who collectively said they believe the former “street priest” remains a sexual predator.

According to public records, Shanley was released from the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater avoiding a large media contingent gathered Friday near the Department of Correction campus in hopes of catching a glimpse of him.

Shanley was one of the few priests to face criminal charges because he had left Massachusetts and moved to California. He was convicted in Middlesex Superior Court for two counts of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14.

Shanley has been defrocked by the Catholic Church and in a statement earlier this week, the Boston Archdiocese said Shanley’s crimes “against children were reprehensible. No young person should ever have to experience such violations of their safety and dignity.”

The Globe’s Spotlight Team reports on the church abuse scandal was selected for the 2003 Pulitzer for Public Service and inspired an Oscar-winning movie.