FLORIDA
Tampa Bay Times
John Romano, Times Columnist
After all these years, the lie had begun to seem real. Chris McCafferty had convinced himself the past had been put to rest, and distant memories could no longer touch him.
This, of course, was never quite true. And all it took was a single phone call to plunge him back into a world of doubt, fear, shame and anger.
The former Catholic priest who McCafferty said sexually abused him as a child in Pinellas Park is scheduled to be released from prison in nine days.
McCafferty was stunned to discover Robert Schaeufele will have only served about 12 years of the concurrent 30-year sentences he received in Pinellas and Pasco counties.
In a conversation Tuesday evening, McCafferty sounded frustrated and perplexed. Hours later, he called back with a sharper perspective.
“Do you want to know the real answer? Do you want to know the truth?” he asked. “It feels like he just (assaulted) me again.”
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