Jury convicts defrocked priest of molestation

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The defrocked priest convicted of grabbing a boy's buttocks in a swimming pool a decade ago will be back in the courtroom in about a month when he faces a second sexual abuse trial.

John Geoghan, 66, was convicted on Friday of indecent assault and battery for the swimming pool episode in 1991, when he was still a priest.

As he had through much of the trial, Geoghan showed no emotion as the verdict was read following eight hours of deliberations by a jury of eight men and four women.

"He was clearly stunned," said defense attorney Geoffrey Packard, who planned to appeal the conviction.

Geoghan faces two other criminal cases and 84 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse of children. Since 1995, more than 130 people have claimed Geoghan fondled or raped them during the three decades he served in Boston-area parishes.

The two remaining cases charge Geoghan with two counts each of child rape and child molestation. The first is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 20.

Geoghan, of Scituate, did not testify and did not have anyone testify for the defense. His lawyer told the jury that Geoghan had only touched the boy when he helped hoist him out of the pool.

His bail was revoked after his conviction and he was taken into custody. A hearing to decide on a sentencing date is scheduled for next Wednesday.

Among the witnesses at the five-day trial was the Archbishop of New Orleans, the Rev. Alfred Hughes, who was Geoghan's supervisor in Boston in 1991. Hughes said he met with Geoghan after a woman complained Geoghan made "inappropriate" comments at the club pool.

He said he told Geoghan to stay away from the Waltham club, and Geoghan agreed. It was not clear from testimony if the warning came after the incident with the young man in this case. The victim could not remember the exact day Geoghan touched him.

Packard implied the abuse charge was all about money, noting the alleged victim didn't come forward until eight years after the incident, and only after consulting an attorney, who later filed a civil suit. He also said too many other people were present for the incident to go unnoticed.

Last week, Cardinal Bernard Law publicly apologized to Geoghan's victims and ordered clergy and volunteers to report allegations of abuse against minors. The Archdiocese of Boston will have "zero tolerance" for sexual abuse by priests, he said.

Law's apology came just days after The Boston Globe reported that Law, during his first year in Boston in 1984, assigned Geoghan to St. Julia's Parish in Weston, even though Geoghan had been removed from two prior parishes for allegedly molesting children.

Law and five other bishops who supervised Geoghan have been accused of negligence in many of the civil suits for allegedly knowing of abuse and doing nothing to stop it.