WORCESTER (MA)
The Catholic Free Press [Worcester, MA]
October 8, 2026
By Tanya Connor
The Worcester diocese can now proceed with a canonical trial to have Father Alan J. Martineau, ordained a priest in 2018, permanently removed from the clerical state following “a determination of sexual abuse,” Raymond L. Delisle, chancellor and director of communications ministry, said in a statement Wednesday. The Vatican directs that the criminal trial be concluded first, he explained.
He said his statement was in response to a story that appeared Wednesday in The Boston Globe.
The Globe said that Father Martineau was initially charged with indecent assault and battery on a person aged 14 or older and he pleaded not guilty. In September 2025, he accepted a plea deal, agreeing that there were enough facts to convict him of assault and battery, but was not pleading guilty to that. The case was then dismissed.
“The court gave him a year of probation and ordered him not to contact the victim, but then his probation was ended early in June this year,” The Globe said.
The following is a summary of the case as reported by The Globe, partly from “previously impounded court records” it says it obtained.
Father Martineau was administrator of St. Paul Parish in Warren and St. Stanislaus Parish in West Warren when allegations were made of inappropriate behavior between him and a 14-year-old whose family lived on church property. He was officially appointed to that position on July 1, 2020.
In 2021 the girl told a visiting priest that Father Martineau had repeatedly hugged, kissed and touched her, starting in 2019. Investigators later found the two had exchanged about 80,000 text messages.
In September 2021, Bishop McManus met with Father Martineau and another priest who told the bishop of the victim’s allegations. In October, she detailed allegations in a written note.
“Our records indicated that initial concerns raised in 2021 by the victim and her family were about boundaries and poor judgment, but not specifically sexual in nature,” said Mr. Delisle. “Additional outreach continued with the family…”
The Catholic Free Press announced in an official on Dec. 31, 2021 that, effective Jan. 29, 2022, Father Martineau was being transferred from St. Paul and St. Stanislaus and becoming associate pastor of St. George Parish in Worcester, while remaining defender of the bond in the diocesan Tribunal.
The Catholic Free Press reported on Dec. 12, 2022, that Father Martineau was scheduled to be transferred to a new parish to benefit from the tutelage of a seasoned pastor because of concerns over boundary issues with a minor, and for other pastoral issues. However, following an independent investigation, and subsequent recommendation by the Diocesan Review Committee, Bishop McManus determined that there was a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by Father Martineau. The assignment to St. George’s never took place. The state Department of Children and Families and law enforcement authorities were notified and a canonical process, including notice to the Vatican, had been initiated to adjudicate the allegation. Additionally, the diocese’s victim assistance coordinator continued to offer assistance to this person and the family.
Father Martineau was placed on administrative leave in late January 2022 and cannot present himself as a priest. It was officially published in The Catholic Free Press on Feb. 11, 2022.
The Globe reported that, before the diocese contacted authorities, “increasingly serious allegations” about Father Martineau’s conduct emerged, “including an alleged campaign of retaliation against the victim’s family.”
The family, struggling financially, lived on St. Stanislaus property rent-free in exchange for working on church grounds, The Globe said.
Mr. Delisle’s statement Wednesday said: “the family alleged that the pastor was not treating them appropriately and displaying poor pastoral judgement, while the pastor was claiming he needed to address the parish’s lack of funds to continue to support this family.”
The Globe said the victim’s father informed Bishop McManus about the priest’s conduct and the bishop asked the diocese’s victim assistance coordinator to talk with the victim.
At the time, it was concluded that the priest had “violated many codes of conduct,” but that the victim had not reported any sexual acts. The Globe said that, later, the victim informed her via email of “more inappropriate interactions…”
Once made aware of a sexual act, the Victim’s Assistant Coordinator reported it to DCF in January and February, and the diocese informed the Worcester district attorney’s office, The Globe said.
“The attorney general’s office referred the matter to the Worcester district attorney for prosecution, according to a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office,” The Globe reported.
In January 2023 the priest was charged, in East Brookfield District Court, with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over, The Globe reported.
It said that in September 2025 Father Martineau accepted a plea agreement the Worcester district attorney’s office offered. The story said “the court agreed to impound the case files.”
The Globe reported that the priest’s lawyer, Louis P. Aloise, “said the charges were reduced because the prosecution could only muster enough evidence to prove Martineau had hugged the victim.”
According to Mr. Delisle, “Although the Diocese has not been notified of any attempt by Martineau to be reinstated as a priest, Bishop McManus has confirmed that it will not happen. Now that the criminal trial has concluded, the Diocese can now proceed with a canonical trial for permanent removal from the clerical state, following the directive of the Vatican that the criminal trial be concluded first.”
According to the diocese, this is the first allegation claiming that an act of sexual abuse of a minor by a diocesan priest occurred in the last 28 years.