HARTFORD (CT)
Hartford Courant
October 16, 2018
By Josh Kovner
With fugitive priest Arthur Perrault jailed in New Mexico on aggravated sexual abuse charges, Naugatuck police are now looking into the accused pedophile’s brief tenure at the former St. Francis Parochial School, where he was assigned for a few months in 1965.
Perrault, 80, who was born in Connecticut, left St. Francis abruptly in 1965, and court records say he next surfaced at a small compound, Via Coeli, in Jemez Springs, New Mexico, where fallen priests were sent by the church for treatment of pedophilia.
A string of lawsuits say he would go on to sexually abuse at least 38 boys in New Mexico. Citing court records, the Associated Press reported that Perrault was accused of having inappropriate talks with boys at St. Francis after hours, including in his car. He has not been charged with committing a crime while at St. Francis.
In a news release on Tuesday, Naugatuck police Lt. Bryan Cammarata said officers would like to speak with alumni who attended St. Francis in 1965, and who can describe what the “atmosphere and the culture of student life was like during this time frame.”
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