Sex abuse allegations ‘credible’ against deceased Northampton priest Paul Archambault

MASSACHUSETTS
Daily Hampshire Gazette

By MICHAEL MAJCHROWICZ
@mjmajchrowicz
Tuesday, March 29, 2016

NORTHAMPTON — Allegations that a deceased Northampton priest had abused a teenage boy were credible, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield said Tuesday in announcing an end to a lawsuit brought in 2013.

The diocese announced that it had reached an undisclosed settlement with a man who said the Rev. Paul J. Archambault sexually abused him beginning when he was 13 and that the priest’s name had been added to an official list— which is maintained by the diocese — of clergy who face credible abuse allegations.

The man who accused Archambault was 20 years old when he asserted in the lawsuit that the priest had sexually assaulted him more than four dozen times in locations such as St. Patrick’s Church in South Hadley, at a spiritual retreat they attended together in Vermont, and at Archambault’s Northampton home, according to court documents. The man said the alleged assaults continued for four years.

The Gazette generally does not release the names of victims of sexual assault.

According to the diocese, Archambault was first assigned to St. Theresa Church in South Hadley in 2005. After a year and a half, he relocated to Baystate Medical Center in 2007 where he was a chaplain. He made his final relocation to St. Mary’s Church in Hampden in 2008.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.