MASSACHUSETTS
Telegram & Gazette

Posted Oct. 11, 2015

Growing up, Stephen Kelley idolized his big brother Bobby.

The youngest of nine kids raised in the Burncoat neighborhood, Stephen loved spending time with the sibling 19 years his senior. Bobby took him to the beach and out for ice cream. He bought him his first bike; when it was stolen, Bobby promptly bought him another. Outgoing and smart, Bobby was always there to listen.

“He was just a really good guy,” said Stephen, 56, of Holden. “He was my hero. I admired him so much.”

In 1968, Bobby Kelley became the Rev. Robert E. Kelley and would be assigned to churches in Southbridge, Leominster and Gardner. His large Irish-Catholic clan was thrilled to have a priest in the family and parishioners adored him.

Until they learned the unthinkable: The charismatic, popular Robert E. Kelley was an insatiable pedophile.

In 1990,…