BishopAccountability.org
	Priest, New Lawyer Seeking Appeal By Patrick Cronin Hampton Union [Hampton NH] May 10, 2005 HAMPTON - Gordon MacRae, a former priest at the Our Lady of the Miraculous Church who was found guilty more than 10 years ago of sexually assaulting boys, is trying again to get an appeal. MacRae, currently serving 33?-67 years in prison, is being aided in his effort by Nashville, Tenn., lawyer Ted Carey. Carey said he intends to file an appeal to MacRae's conviction and prison sentence in state and federal courts. MacRae was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Keene boy in 1994. He pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting three other boys - two of whom were the brothers of the first victim and the third was from Hampton. The assaults against the 15-year-old took place during "pastoral counseling" sessions MacRae conducted with the victim while serving as a priest at St. Bernard's Parish in Keene. Although the acts occurred between June and November 1983, the offenses were not reported until March 1993, when the victim contacted Keene police after learning that his brother had reported similar incidents of sexual abuse by MacRae. Another boy from Hampton came forward and said MacRae molested him at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish in 1982. It was later revealed that Catholic Church officials were aware of that charge and that is why MacRae was transferred to the Keene church. Carey, who is working for free, said he decided to take on the MacRae appeal after the former priest wrote to him from prison. While in prison, MacRae said he was innocent of all child abuse charges. MacRae's case was resurrected in the media recently by two columns written by Dorothy Rabinowitz, a member of the Wall Street Journal's editorial board. In her columns, Rabinowitz argued that MacRae's abusers fabricated their accusations to get cash from the archdiocese. The three Keene brothers sued the diocese in the late 1990s and settled out of court. Rabinowitz also said MacRae was wrongly convicted of the rape charges and that he was bullied into pleading guilty. Carey recently represented a group of Tennessee Medicaid recipients whose health insurance was at risk. In the past, he has defended other priests accused of sexual assault and several death-row inmates. This is not the first time MacRae has tried to appeal his sentence. In 1996, the N.H. Supreme Court denied MacRae's appeal to the state appeals court.