MARBLEHEAD (MA)
Marblehead Current [Marblehead MA]
April 10, 2025
By Leigh Blander
A judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the trial of a former Marblehead priest, Tower School assistant headmaster and Boy Scout leader charged with sexually assaulting a 12-year-old Marblehead boy in 1976.
The jury deliberated for about eight hours without reaching a verdict. It’s not clear yet whether the prosecutor will attempt to retry Father Richard Losch, who is 92 years old. Losch served at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Marblehead from 1969-1986. He worked at the Tower School from 1969-1981.
The 64-year-old accuser, whom the Current will identify as “Jack,” attended Tower and had Losch as a teacher. Jack told the Current that while he’s disappointed the jury did not return a guilty verdict, “I really feel like I can move forward now.”
Jack testified that Losch invited him and three other boys to Indian Pond Reserve Boy Scout Camp where Losch was director. The camp, in Orford, New Hampshire, had not yet opened for the season.
Jack testified that once they arrived at the camp Losch informed him that they would be sharing a bed in a cabin. Jack believes the other boys had their own beds in the cabin.
“He was in the bed, lying behind me,” Jack said of Losch. “I woke up and his hand was in the front of my underwear. He was fondling my genitals. I was incredibly afraid. I was terrified … so I did everything I could to make him think I was asleep.”
Jack continued: “Then he pulled my underwear down. He put one arm around my chest and his other hand over my mouth. He pulled me against him and be began to rape me.”
Losch, who later moved to Alabama where he continued to serve as a priest, declined to comment after the mistrial was announced, but did tell the Current that he expects prosecutors to decide in the next couple of weeks whether there will be a retrial. Losch denied the charges against him in a conversation with the Current in 2023.
Rev. James Bixby of Marblehead’s Clifton Lutheran Church testified at the trial about how Jack came to him a few years ago with his story.
“While a conviction today was not in the cards, believing our victim was,” Bixby said, referring to the hung jury.
Ten witnesses testified in Grafton Superior Court in North Haverhill, New Hampshire, including an Alabama police official who interviewed Losch about the allegations on Dec. 7, 2022. Special Agent Johnny Bowman testified that when he and his partner asked Losch if he had ever slept in bed with a young boy, Losch answered, “I do… I wouldn’t think so. I wouldn’t think so, no.”
Two other men, former Tower students, testified that they remember being on a trip with Losch and Jack in the spring or summer of 1976. The men both said they brought sleeping bags with them, but neither recalled if they slept on the floor or in beds. Neither remembered where Jack and Losch slept.
Both men testified that they don’t remember any strange behavior between Losch and Jack on the trip, or afterwards at Tower School.
Jack’s brother testified briefly that Jack had told him in high school that something had happened with Losch during a trip. The brother said he did not tell his parents or anyone else.
In closing arguments, Losch’s attorney Michael Iacopino reminded that the jury must determine beyond a reasonable doubt that the former priest was guilty.
“This case is 50 years old,” Iacopino said. “The allegations before you are claimed to have occurred half a century ago. That may seem extraordinary to you, and it is. It’s something you have to consider because we know what time can do to memory.”
Iacopino told the jury that Jack’s memory was spotty at best and questioned why Jack waited more than 40 years to report the alleged assault. He claimed Jack only came forward when he thought he could make money by filing an abuse survivor’s claim against the Boy Scouts.
“He saw an opportunity,” Iacopino said. “Father Losch was 87 years old then. He was a sitting duck.”
Jack’s claim with the Boy Scouts is still pending, and Iacopino suggested that was his motive for going to the police with his accusations. The defense attorney also told the jury that Jack may enjoy the attention.
“He became the darling of the priest abuse community,” Iacopino said. “He’s getting some fame and glory.”
Prosecutor Antonia Barry reminded the jury that Jack’s testimony is evidence and said that it was enough to convict Losch.
“Fear and shame,” Barry said in her closing argument. “An abiding sense of fear and shame made (Jack) keep a secret of what Father Losch did to him… When you heard (Jack) testifying, did you think, ‘Gosh, that guy’s a liar’? Or did it seem like (Jack) was honestly, painfully recalling terrible events that he had tried to hide for decades?”
Jack, who moved from Marblehead to North Carolina four months ago, shared his thoughts after the emotional trial.
“I’ve done what I can do,” he said. “We know some of the folks on the jury did think he was guilty.”
Jack had these words of encouragement for victims of clergy abuse. “Come forward, when you’re ready. Never give up and always believe in yourself.”