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The Latest: Experts says priest's age makes abuse unlikely

ABC News
July 28, 2017

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/latest-governor-review-sex-crimes-civil-commitments-48906465

FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2005 file photo, defrocked priest Paul Shanley, a figure in the sex scandal that rocked the Boston Roman Catholic Archdiocese, stands prior to the reading of a verdict in his trial at Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge, Mass. Shanley was convicted of raping and fondling a boy at his Roman Catholic church during the 1980s and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Shanley is due to be released Friday, July 28, 2017.

The Latest on the release from prison of a former Roman Catholic priest convicted of child rape (all times local):

5:50 p.m.

A former Massachusetts priest who was convicted of child sex abuse and was recently released from prison will be living across the street from a children's dance studio.

Eighty-six-year-old Paul Shanley moved to a town called Ware on Friday shortly after being released from a prison in Bridgewater, where he finished serving a 12-year sentence. He had been convicted of raping a boy in the 1980s.

His new home in a multiunit building is across the street from a recently opened dance studio that teaches children as young as 2.

The studio's owner tells The Boston Globe she plans to install "state-of-the-art" security systems and make sure every child leaves the studio accompanied by an adult.

Shanley has been ordered to have no contact with children under 16. His lawyer says he's not dangerous.

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5:25 p.m.

A lawyer for a Massachusetts priest who has been released from prison after serving a sentence for a child rape conviction says he's confident he won't harm anyone.

Attorney Robert Shaw Jr. handled a criminal appeal for defrocked priest Paul Shanley. He says he understands why sexual abuse victims and others opposed Shanley's release from prison Friday.

Shanley was released from the Old Colony Correctional Facility in Bridgewater and has moved to a town called Ware. He completed a 12-year prison sentence.

Shaw says he has "absolutely no concern that Paul Shanley is going to harm anybody." He says the 86-year-old Shanley is "extremely frail" and in poor health.

Shaw notes two psychologists hired by the state found Shanley does not fit the criteria necessary to be held in custody under the state's sexually dangerous person law.

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12:55 p.m.

Two psychologists who evaluated a defrocked Massachusetts priest convicted of raping a boy in the 1980s have concluded he's unlikely to sexually abuse more children because he is 86 and has health issues.

Both psychologists found Paul Shanley meets the psychiatric criteria for pedophilic disorder. But they say in written reports research suggests recidivism rates for people of his age are extremely low. They also cite the fact his last reported offense was in 1990.

Shanley was one of the most notorious figures in the Boston clergy sex abuse scandal. Dozens of men came forward and reported Shanley had molested or raped them when they were children.

He was released from prison Friday after completing a 12-year sentence. His lawyer says he's not dangerous.

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10:15 a.m.

Police in the town where a notorious figure in the Boston Roman Catholic priest child abuse scandal is expected to live have plenty of experience with sex offenders.

Paul Shanley was released Friday from prison after spending 12 years behind bars on a child rape conviction. The state's sex offender registry shows Shanley is the 20th Level 3 sex offender to move to Ware. Level 3 offenders are considered the most likely to re-offend.

Several other sex offenders already live on the street where the 86-year-old Shanley will live.

Ware police Chief Shawn Crevier says it's one the most heavily patrolled areas of the town.

He says he will "make sure the citizens are protected and (Shanley's) rights are also protected."

Ware has about 10,000 residents and is located about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west of Boston.

Shanley's lawyer says he's not dangerous.

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9:30 a.m.

The governor of Massachusetts says he plans on reviewing the standards used to determine whether a person who has completed a prison sentence for a sex crime is sexually dangerous and can be civilly committed.

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker made his comments Thursday, the day before Paul Shanley, a central figure in Boston's Roman Catholic priest sex abuse scandal, was released from prison. Shanley was released from a Bridgewater prison after serving 12 years in prison on a child rape conviction.

Baker says he knows people "who were horribly affected and damaged by Paul Shanley."

Prosecutors sought to hold Shanley beyond his criminal sentence under a law that allows civil commitment of people deemed sexually dangerous. But two experts hired by the state found he did not meet the legal criteria to hold him.

Shanley's lawyer says he's not dangerous.

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9:10 a.m.

A lawyer who represented dozens of men who say they were abused by a former Boston Roman Catholic priest who's been released from prison says the man shouldn't be in "the outside world" where he can gain access to children.

Paul Shanley was released from a prison in Bridgewater on Friday after serving a 12-year sentence for a child rape conviction.

The state's sex offender registry lists Shanley as a Level 3 offender, meaning he is most likely to re-offend. The registry says he plans to live in the town of Ware. Shanley won't have to wear an electronic monitor.

Lawyer Mitchell Garabedian says Shanley should be confined to a hospital where he can be treated.

Shanley's lawyer says he has served his time and is not dangerous.

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7:50 a.m.

A notorious figure in the Boston Roman Catholic priest sex abuse scandal has been released from prison after completing a 12-year sentence for the rape of a boy in the 1980s.

Massachusetts prison officials say Paul Shanley was released from the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater on Friday.

Shanley was a "street priest" who ministered to alienated youth in the 1960s and '70s. Decades later, dozens of men came forward and said Shanley had molested or raped them. He was defrocked by the Vatican and convicted of raping a boy at a Newton parish.

Abuse victims say they're concerned the 86-year-old Shanley will not have enough supervision. He isn't required to wear an electronic monitoring device.

His lawyer says he's served his time and is not dangerous.

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12:40 a.m.

Protesters are vowing to demonstrate outside the Massachusetts prison where a notorious figure in the Boston clergy sex abuse scandal is being released after completing a 12-year sentence for a child rape conviction.

Paul Shanley is expected to be released from the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater on Friday.

Shanley was a street priest who ministered to alienated youths in the 1960s and '70s. Decades later, dozens of men came forward and said Shanley had molested or raped them. He was defrocked by the Vatican and convicted of raping a boy at a Newton parish.

Sexual abuse victims say they're concerned the 86-year-old Shanley will not have enough supervision after he's released. He'll be monitored by probation officials but isn't required to wear an electronic monitoring device.

His lawyer says he's not dangerous.




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