Michigan Man Claims Abuse by Defrocked Priest Richard Lavigne
Tuesday, May 18 2010 @ 05:34 PM BST
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Tag: usaBy Ray Hershel
GREENFIELD, Mass. (abc40)-- 47-year old Peter Caffrey a former Western Massachusetts resident who now lives in Michigan says he was abused in 1976 and 1977 by defrocked priest Richard Lavigne.
Caffrey says he was 12 and 13 years old at the time. Caffrey says Lavigne was a priest at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in North Adams when the alleged abuse took place. He also says the abuse took place at Lavigne's house in Ashfield.
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Caffrey says he repressed the alleged abuse for nearly 35 years but last year it surfaced and the memories started to haunt him, "I was in tears constantly, I would be driving a car, and the memory would come back and I would almost swerve off the road, I wanted to kill myself."
The lawsuit filed in Franklin County Superior Court in Greenfield names Bishops Joseph Maguire and Thomas Dupre who had supervised Lavigne. The suit claims they were negligent for allowing Caffrey to be molested by Lavigne.
Attorney John Stobierski is representing Caffrey, "The Catholic Church through its supervisors, policies, and procedures failed to protect children, they placed the institution over the interests of children and it has resulted in a tragedy of immeasurable proportions."
Richard Lavigne has a long history. In 1992 he was convicted of two child molestation charges. Several years later the diocese settled suits with 17 alleged sexual abuse victims for 1.4 million dollars. Lavigne was also the only publicly identified suspect in the 1972 murder of Springfield altar boy Danny Croteau. No charges have been filed in the case. Lavigne was defrocked in 2004.
A statement from the diocese says all diocesan records have been reviewed by law enforcement officials and insurance carriers and "...As a result of those reviews Bishop Maguire's conduct in supervising and assigning personnel has never been criticized. These allegations of inadequate supervision will be defended vigorously," says spokesperson Mark Dupont.
Dupont says the diocese learned of Caffrey's allegations last year and offered him full assistance from its Victim Counseling Office. Caffrey says he became frustrated and then hired Attorney Stobierski.
http://www.wggb.com/Global/story.asp?S=12510833
