BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
Dec. 12, 2019
By Travis Andersen
A Catholic priest in New Jersey pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of indecently assaulting three children under 14 in Springfield in the 1980s, about 20 years before his ordination, according to prosecutors and court records.
Rev. Patrick Kuffner, 72, entered his plea in Hampden Superior Court to three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, legal filings show. Bail was set at $50,000, and his lawyer didn’t immediately respond to telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment.
Kuffner was initially arrested Nov. 20 in New Jersey and taken into custody by Massachusetts State Police on Wednesday, officials said.
Prosecutors say Kuffner, who became a priest in 2002, allegedly assaulted the youths while chaperoning a trip to Springfield in the early 1980s. Investigators were initially contacted after one alleged victim recognized Kuffner at a funeral while standing in line to receive communion, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni’s office said in a statement.
The alleged victim confronted Kuffner and later reported the past incident to law enforcement, prosecutors said.
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