Brendan W. O'Donoghue

April 6, 1999

PRIEST SUED ON SEXUAL CHILD ABUSE CHARGES

Gary V. Murray; TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER - A Worcester man has alleged in a civil lawsuit that he was sexually abused as a child by a Roman Catholic priest.

In a suit filed Friday in Worcester Superior Court, 49-year-old Robert King charged that he was twice sexually molested in 1962 by the Rev. Brendan O'Donoghue, once on a ski trip to Vermont and the second time in the Worcester home of O'Donoghue's mother.

A similar suit alleging sexual abuse of a child was filed against O'Donoghue in 1994 and is still pending.
King, represented by Worcester lawyer Christopher M. Uhl, is seeking unspecified financial damages in his suit against O'Donoghue, the diocese, Bishop Daniel P. Reilly and Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger.

According to the suit, the sexual assaults occurred in 1962, when King was 12 years old and a member of St. Peter's Church and Boy Scout Troop 929, of which O'Donoghue was scout chaplain. O'Donoghue, now retired, was a close friend of King's family and assumed a "parental role" toward King when King's mother died in January 1962, the suit states.

A month after the death of King's mother, O'Donoghue organized a Boy Scout ski trip to Mount Snow, Vt., "to help ease Robert King's suffering from the loss of his mother," according to the suit. After insisting that he and King share a bed at the Red Barn Ski Lodge, the suit alleges, O'Donoghue sexually abused King for the first time, telling him that the sexual act was "their secret."

The second of the alleged assaults occurred in March 1962, according to the suit, after O'Donoghue asked that King stay over at O'Donoghue's mother's house so they could leave early the next morning for another ski trip to Vermont. O'Donoghue allegedly sexually abused King while the two were sharing a bed in the home of O'Donoghue's mother.
The suit states that King, of 12 Scott St., "experienced emotional suffering" as a direct result of O'Donoghue's acts and that he later abused alcohol and drugs "to ease his suffering." According to the suit, King repressed his memories of the alleged assaults and did not appreciate that he had been harmed by O'Donoghue's alleged conduct until last December, after seeking specialized counseling.

The suit charges that diocesan officials were aware O'Donoghue was engaging in sexual conduct with King and other children and that they transferred him 12 times during his first 15 years in the diocese "in an effort to hide the sexual predator..."

It further charges that church officials failed to take reasonable steps to protect King and that they conspired with O'Donoghue "to cover up the sexual wrong doing ..."

The 16-page suit includes claims of negligence, negligent hiring, intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery and conspiracy.

Diocesan officials declined to comment on the suit.

"Our policy is not to comment on any ongoing or pending lawsuits...," said diocesan spokesman Raymond Delisle, adding that O'Donoghue is retired and on administrative leave and not acting in any capacity as a priest.
King also declined comment on the lawsuit.

In 1994, Edward L. Gagne of Spencer filed a civil suit in Worcester Superior Court alleging that he was sexually assaulted by O'Donoghue in 1978 in the rectory of Our Lady of the Rosary in Spencer. Gagne was a 13-year-old altar boy at the time of the alleged assault.

Gagne also sued diocesan officials and the Rev. Peter J. Inzerillo. Gagne alleged that Inzerillo sexually assaulted him in 1985 when Inzerillo was vocation director for the diocese and Gagne was considering entering the priesthood.

O'Donoghue and Inzerillo have denied Gagne's charges and Gagne's suit is still pending.

WORCESTER -- An out-of-court settlement has been reached in a second civil lawsuit brought in connection with allegations of child sexual assault by a Roman Catholic priest.

Terms were not disclosed of the agreement this week in a suit against the Worcester Diocese and the Rev. Brendan O'Donoghue, a 78-year-old retired priest now living in Shrewsbury. Robert P. King, 52, of Worcester alleged he was sexually assaulted by Rev. O'Donoghue in 1962, when he was a parishioner of St. Peter's Parish and Rev. O'Donoghue was a curate there.

In October 1999, a civil lawsuit filed by Edward L. Gagne of Spencer alleging that he was sexually assaulted by Rev. O'Donoghue and another priest, the Rev. Peter J. Inzerillo, also was settled out of court.

Mr. King alleged in his 1999 lawsuit that he was twice sexually assaulted by Rev. O' Donoghue, once during an overnight ski trip in Vermont and a second time at the Pleasant Street home of Rev. O'Donoghue's mother.

Rev. O'Donoghue denied the allegations. His lawyer, Thomas B. Farrey III, and lawyer James G. Reardon Jr., representing the diocese, also claimed Mr. King's suit was barred by a three-year statute of limitations.

Mr. King, represented by lawyer Christopher M. Uhl, maintained the statute of limitations did not apply because he did not make a connection between the psychological harm he said he suffered and the alleged sexual abuse until he began counseling in 1998.

Mr. King's suit included claims for assault and battery, intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress, negligence and negligent hiring and supervision.

Claims against Bishop Daniel P. Reilly and Auxiliary Bishop George F. Rueger, who had also been named as defendants, were dismissed last week by Judge Timothy S. Hillman after he found neither held his present supervisory position with the diocese at the time the assaults were alleged to have occurred.

The settlement of Mr. King's remaining case against the diocese and Rev. O'Donoghue was reached Monday, when a trial was scheduled to begin in Worcester Superior Court, according to court records. Terms of the settlement were not contained in the records, and Mr. King and the lawyers involved in the case could not be reached yesterday for comment on the settlement.

In the previous case, Mr. Gagne charged that as a 13-year-old altar boy, he was molested by Rev. O'Donoghue in 1978 in the rectory of Our Lady of the Rosary parish in Spencer. He further alleged that he was sexually assaulted by Rev. Inzerillo in 1985, when Rev. Inzerillo was vocation director for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester and Mr. Gagne was considering entering the priesthood.

Rev. O'Donoghue and Rev. Inzerillo denied the allegations in depositions filed in connection with the case. Mr. Gagne and the lawyers involved in the case declined to discuss the terms of the settlement at that time.

February 15, 2003

O'Donoghue moved frequently by church

By Kathleen A. Shaw,Telegram & Gazette Staff

Previous Telegram & Gazette news reports show that the Rev. Brendan W. O'Donoghue, of all publicly accused priests, had the most reassignments, sometimes twice in a year.

Rev. O'Donoghue was ordained in 1950 and was assigned to Our Lady Immaculate in Athol, but was moved to St. Leo's in Leominster in less than a year.

His assignments took him to St. Paul's Cathedral in 1952, St. Bridget, Millbury, and St. Martin in Otter River by 1955. Within months, he was reassigned to St. Bernard's in Fitchburg and was reassigned to St. Christopher in Worcester in 1960.

Within the same year, he was reassigned to St. Peter's, Worcester. The priest was assigned in 1963 to St. Ann's, North Oxford, but went to St. Philip of Grafton the following year and then on to St. Mary's of Milford the year after that.

He served at St. Therese, Harvard, from 1969 to 1975 and then was sent to Our Lady of the Rosary, Spencer, from 1976 to 1979.

During his time in Spencer, he spent several months on leave before being sent to St. Peter, Petersham, where he served from 1979 to 1984. He retired in 1984 from St. Matthew's in Southboro. He is now retired, but the diocesan directory of retired priests does not list where he is living.

February 15, 2003

Records on priests targeted

By Kathleen A. Shaw,Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER-- Craig Lecaire wants to see all of the records on accused priests within the Catholic Diocese of Worcester opened to public scrutiny, because he might get answers to his own questions regarding his abuse he says was at the hands of two priests.

Mr. Lecaire, of Spencer, said he was raped by the Rev. Brendan W. O'Donoghue, now retired, and sexually assaulted by the late Rev. Norman Jalbert.

 “Grave harm is being done to the body of Christ and it needs to be taken care of,” he said.

 “Opening up all those files will certainly answer some of my questions. I have heard things. It appears that Brendan O'Donoghue was moved around the diocese and no one in the diocese has said why,” Mr. Lecaire said.

A group of Worcester Diocese and Boston area Catholics will again be demonstrating starting at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at St. Paul's Cathedral, and they said they will do so until the diocese opens up all personnel files on accused priests and financial records.

Mr. Lecaire, formerly an altar boy at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Spencer, left the Roman Catholic Church and is now a member of Holland Congregational Church.

He filed a civil suit against Rev. O'Donoghue several months ago, but had to withdraw it with prejudice when he was told the statute of limitations had run out. He was represented by James Ponsetto and Jeffrey K. Newman of Marblehead.

In his civil suit, Mr. Lecaire said that, while he was about age 11 and serving as an altar boy in Spencer, “I was raped as well as molested and fondled on a regular basis” by Rev. O'Donoghue from 1976 to 1978.

A first incident happened when he was preparing in the sacristy to put on his altar server robes, he said. He felt a hand touching his shoulder, he said, and Rev. O'Donoghue smiled and “proceeded to fondle across and down my shoulders to my chest, and my belly ... This was done in a very sensual, caressing manner, and made me extremely uncomfortable and awkward feeling. As he was caressing me, he said, 'Well, Craig, what a fine young man you're becoming.' ”

The first rape was in June 1976, after he had done some gardening work at the parish, he said. He was invited by Rev. O'Donoghue upstairs to see where he lived. Entering his bedroom, he was surprised to find a picture with a naked boy in it hanging on the wall.

He said the priest told him that “he, as God's priest, and I, as one of Jesus' altar boys, had a special holy relationship that was different from the rest of the congregation. An important trust, and that anything that happened between he and I was considered sacred.

“He told me that if I were to ever talk about it to others, it would break this sacred trust and part of God's commandment, and if I did, I and possibly my mother and father could lose our souls to the devil in hell,” Mr. Lecaire said. He said he believed the priest.

He said Rev. O'Donoghue told him that he must be tired from working in the gardens and that he should lie down on the bed and rest. Mr. Lecaire said he insisted he was OK, but the priest insisted and next told the youth to take off his pants and shirt so he would be more comfortable. Mr. Lecaire said Rev. O'Donoghue told him it was OK because “we were both men” and he was going to get undressed, too. The priest then proceeded to rape the boy, leaving him confused and in pain. He said that when he got home, he realized he was bleeding, but he dared tell no one.

Another incident happened shortly after, when he was in the church basement preparing for a religious education class. He was “fooling around” and acting up, and a woman stopped him and sent him to the priest for discipline. He was told to lean across a table and he was sexually assaulted. A series of sexual assaults happened over the next two years, he said.

Mr. Lecaire said after the last assault, he made sure he was never alone with Rev. O'Donoghue again. He was having serious psychological problems and prayed the rosary compulsively and constantly made the sign of the cross in his mouth with his tongue.

“By performing these holy rituals, I believed God would forgive me, as if it were my fault. This would cleanse me of the defiled dirtiness I believed I was,” he said.

During his high school years, when he was having emotional difficulties, he turned to his guidance counselor at Holy Name High School, Worcester, who was the late Rev. Norman Jalbert.

Rev. Jalbert had been of some help to him with his school work, but then the invitations came to his camp in Spencer.

“One night I woke up and Father Jalbert was laying on top of me ...” he said. He threw him off, but Rev. Jalbert made two other assault attempts that night, without success, and there were no further incidents.

Ray Plante Jr. of Worcester recently said he was victim of a series of rapes by Rev. Jalbert at the camp. Mr. Plante was also a student at Holy Name. Mr. Lecaire, who knows Mr. Plante, said they hear there were more victims of Rev. Jalbert. “The whole truth needs to come out,” he said.

June 29, 2004

Priest, bishops named in suit

By Kathleen A. Shaw,Telegram & Gazette Staff

4th abuse case for O'Donoghue Priest transferred often within Worcester diocese

WORCESTER- Daniel W. Cronin, now a resident of Los Angeles, filed suit in Worcester Superior Court alleging he was sexually abused by the Rev. Brendan E. O'Donoghue when he was an 8-year-old altar boy at St. Peter Church.

The suit, which was filed May 13, also names the late Cardinal John J. Wright, first Worcester bishop, and the estate of the late Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan for failing to properly supervise Rev. O'Donoghue.

Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger is also named in the suit, but only in his capacity as executor of Bishop Flanagan's estate; there are no allegations of wrongdoing on his part.

James Gavin Reardon Jr., lawyer for the Catholic Diocese of Worcester, said yesterday the diocese has not been served and he has not seen the suit. Should the diocese get notice of the suit, an appropriate response will be made.

Mr. Reardon said that, based on the naming of Cardinal Wright and Bishop Flanagan, it looks like the allegations are "historic" and go back many years.

Mr. Cronin, represented by lawyer John J. St. Andre of Framingham, said in court documents he was molested by Rev. O'Donoghue at the altar of St. Peter Church in Worcester, and at the home of Rev. O'Donoghue's mother in Worcester.

Mr. Cronin says in the suit that he had trusted Rev. O'Donoghue "as a priest and friend."

The suit says as a result of this molestation he has suffered emotionally for more than 40 years and has depression, difficulties with trust and intimacy, difficulty in developing relationships with women, and difficulty with substance abuse and religion.

Rev. O'Donoghue, who was ordained here in 1950 by then-Bishop Wright, grew up in Worcester, son of Mr. and Mrs. William O'Donoghue. Bishop Wright served here until 1959 when he transferred to Pittsburgh. He later was assigned to Rome and died there in 1979 as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Clergy. Bishop Flanagan became Worcester's second bishop in 1959 and served until retiring in 1983. He died here in 1998.

Rev. O'Donoghue was transferred from St. Christopher Church in Worcester in August 1960 to St. Peter Church in Worcester. He served at St. Peter until August 1963 when he was moved to St. Ann Church in North Oxford.

This is the fourth known lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by Rev. O'Donoghue, 81, who is now retired and living at Southgate in Shrewsbury.

Craig Lacaire of Spencer filed a suit in 2002 alleging that he was raped by Rev. O'Donoghue when he was an altar boy between 1976 and 1978 at Our Lady of the Rosary parish in Spencer. The suit was later dismissed because of statute of limitation issues.

Edward Gagne of Spencer filed a suit in 1995, alleging he was sexually abused by Rev. O'Donoghue at the Spencer parish in 1978, where he also was an altar boy. An out-of-court monetary settlement was reached.

Robert King of Worcester in 1999 filed a suit alleging he was sexually abused by Rev. O'Donoghue in 1962 when he was still at St. Peter parish. That suit was also settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

Rev. O'Donoghue was ordained in 1950 and assigned to Our Lady Immaculate in Athol. He was moved to St. Leo in Leominster less than a year later.

His assignments took him to St. Paul Cathedral in 1952, St. Bridget, Millbury, and St. Martin in Otter River by 1955. Within months, he was reassigned to St. Bernard in Fitchburg, and then to St. Christopher in Worcester in 1960.

Within the same year, he was reassigned to St. Peter in Worcester. The priest was assigned in 1963 to St. Ann in North Oxford, but went to St. Philip of Grafton the following year, then on to St. Mary Church of Milford the year after that.

He served at St. Therese in Harvard from 1969 to 1975 and then was sent to Our Lady of the Rosary in Spencer from 1976 to 1979.

During his time in Spencer, he spent several months on leave before being sent to St. Peter Church in Petersham, where he served from 1979 to 1984. He retired in 1984 from St. Matthew Church in Southboro.