MANCHESTER (NH)
WMUR-TV, ABC-9 [Manchester NH]
March 26, 2024
By Hannah Cotter
Accuser says priest assaulted him as teenager
The Diocese of Manchester has settled a child sexual abuse claim from the 1970s involving a former priest.
No lawsuit was filed because the alleged abuse happened outside the statute of limitations, but the attorney representing the John Doe who was involved said it’s important for survivors to come forward as part of the healing process.Advertisement
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said his client was sexually abused when he was a teenager in 1973 and 1974 by the Rev. Alfred Jannetta. He said Jannetta gave the child alcohol and marijuana before abusing him at St. Paul Church in Franklin, which is now known as St. Gabriel Parish.
Garabedian said the accuser also said he was abused by an unknown priest at Camp Fatima in Gilmanton Ironworks when he was 8 years old.
Garabedian and Bob Hoatson, the president of the nonprofit organization Road to Recovery, announced the six-figure settlement Tuesday outside of the Diocese of Manchester. Hoatson said he drove all the way to Manchester from New Jersey to recognize what he called the heroic actions of the accuser.
“If he’s watching this presentation today, I hope he understands how he’s going to help so many people,” Hoatson said. “The numbers, he will never know.”
Garabedian said the settlement has been a long time coming, but it’s never too late for people to report such crimes.
“He came to me about two years ago,” Garabedian said. “So, the process has been ongoing and continuous. But he finally feels as though a weight has been taken off his shoulders, and he can move on with his life.”
In a statement, the Diocese of Manchester said, in part: “The Diocese of Manchester provides financial assistance to those who have been harmed, regardless of when the abuse occurred, through a process utilizing independent trauma-informed consultants. The diocese ensures that law enforcement is notified of reports of sexual abuse of a minor by church personnel as well as the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families, when appropriate.”
Jannetta died in 2005.