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	Patrick Air Force Base to Welcome Exonerated Chaplain, Officials Say By Laurin Sellers Orlando Sentinel December 14, 2002 Patrick Air Force Base — The Rev. Redmond Raux, who was accused of fondling a boy while serving as a Boston priest, will be welcomed at Patrick Air Force Base, officials said Friday. Brig. Gen. Greg Pavlovich, commander of the 45th Space Wing, was aware of "an issue" involving Raux but was told he had been exonerated, said Michael Kucharek, spokesman for Air Force Space Command in Colorado Springs. Raux, who is scheduled to transfer to the Brevard County base no later than Feb. 28, was accused in 1993 of molesting a 12-year-old boy seven years earlier, but was never charged with any crime. A church review-board twice investigated and determined the allegations were unsubstantiated, Kucharek said. Ken Warren, a spokesman at Patrick, said Friday that the base had received four calls from people expressing concerns about Raux's planned transfer. Two came from civilians, including a woman who said a Roman Catholic priest had abused her, and two were from military personnel. Warren would not disclose the callers' specific concerns. Raux, 47, who is now serving as a chaplain at Warren Air Force Base near Cheyenne, Wyo., would not comment on the accusations, which he previously denied. Maj. Gen. Lorraine Potter, chief of the Air Force Chaplain Service, the Archdiocese of Boston and Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Cheyenne all came to his defense this week. "Father Redmond Raux had an allegation of misconduct with a minor made against him and the allegation was found to be unsubstantiated," Donna Morrissey, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Boston, said in a statement. Potter wrote that Raux has had "a stellar Air Force career. In our communication with the Military Archdiocese we find absolutely no reason to remove Chaplain Raux from serving in the active duty chaplain service. He is a superb chaplain, officer and leader." In a statement issued Friday, Ricken said Raux's "priestly service at Holy Family Chapel at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne has been very good." The church paid the family of Raux's accuser a $200,000 out-of-court settlement, according to court documents. However, the amount also covered more serious allegations against a second priest who admitted to molesting the same boy.
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