MAINE
WHDH
[with video]
Reported by Kelli O’Hara
KENNEBUNK, Maine (WHDH) –
Sex abuse victims said they were forced to relive their trauma after learning their church was honoring the priest who they said abused them.
At Saint Martha’s in Kennebunk, Maine, a plaque on the wall thanks dozens of people for their donations. One of the names on the plaque is Father James Vallely.
Vallely, who was a priest at the Maine Archdiocese starting in 1952, was accused of sexually abusing at least nine children before he died in 1997. Despite the accusations, he was never prosecuted or defrocked. The church listed him on the plaque for donating money for its stained glass windows.
“It goes to show the lack of compassion,” said Jim Tremble, a former altar boy. Tremble said he was 13 years old when Vallely raped him in the backseat of his car. “I was threatened after it was over and I never said a word.”
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian is representing Tremble and others who are suing the Archdiocese, saying Vallely abused them. He said he wants to know why Vallely’s name was allowed to remain on the wall until recently.
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