Priest agrees to settle abuse suit
By Sara Withee / News Staff Writer
Thursday, June 3, 2004
MILLVILLE -- The Rev. Jean-Paul Gagnon, now on administrative leave from St. Augustine Parish, has agreed to settle a civil lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a Worcester teenager in the 1980s, attorneys involved in the case said yesterday.
 
     Gagnon and the Rev. Raymond Tremblay, another defendant in the case, reached an agreement last Thursday with the plaintiffs, Timothy Staney of Worcester and his parents, Joseph C. and Corinne L. Staney, attorneys said.
 
     Judge Jeffrey A. Locke still must accept the deal, which was filed in Worcester Superior Court last Friday and seeks to dismiss the case against Gagnon and Tremblay, but not the Roman Catholic bishop of Worcester.
 
     The deal calls for the case against Gagnon and Tremblay to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled, and for the priests to pay Staney an undisclosed "nominal" sum, the attorneys said.
 
     The agreement was reached Thursday at the Stoneham law office of Joanne Goulka, counsel for the Roman Catholic bishop, as Gagnon and Tremblay's attorneys were to start deposing Staney. Goulka completed her deposition of Staney earlier that day, according to the attorneys.
 
     Attorney Edward P. Ryan Jr. of Fitchburg, Gagnon's counsel, proposed the settlement before the deposition, both sides said. But Ryan and Staney's attorney, Daniel Shea of Houston, Texas, disagree about who initially raised a possible deal several months ago, each saying it was the other.
 
     Shea said his client was pleased to avoid several hours of questioning.
 
     "He felt greatly relieved," Shea said. "The depositions in these cases are extremely difficult for the victim."
 
     Shea and Ryan both refused to say how much Gagnon and Tremblay will pay Staney. Shea, however, said his client settled because they believe Gagnon and Tremblay do not have much more money to contribute to a settlement offer and because the Worcester Diocese should bear more of the blame. Some of the priests accused of sexual abuse displayed signs early in their training they were not suited to the lifestyle, Shea said.
 
     "We've learned a whole lot in the last year-and-a-half, since September 2002," Shea said. "There's a certain sense that Gagnon and Tremblay are victims of this church, certainly to a lesser degree, but also victims of the same institution's abuse and negligence."
 
     Ryan said his client is innocent and settled mostly because he would have paid more in attorney fees if the deposition went forward.
 
Father Gagnon has maintained his innocence since the beginning of the lawsuit and continues to do so and is most certainly not a victim of anything other than a false allegation," Ryan said.
 
   The Staneys filed their lawsuit in September 2002, alleging the two priests abused him while they were assigned to the Holy Name of Jesus Church in Worcester. Staney's complaint accused Gagnon of molesting him at the church, at Staney's family home in Worcester and Gagnon's summer camp in Brimfield.
 
     Gagnon took a personal leave from Millville's St. Augustine's Parish after Staney filed the lawsuit. The Worcester Diocese changed his absence to an administrative leave in the summer of 2003 following an internal investigation.
 
   Last month, District Attorney John Conte charged him with indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 and assault and battery.
 
  Gagnon pleaded not guilty to both charges, which involve two separate victims, including one adult male parishioner from St. Augustine's. He is due back in Uxbridge District Court June 30.
 

 

 

 

 
Thursday, June 3, 2004

Lawsuit settled involving priest

 
Kathleen A. Shaw
T&G STAFF
kshaw@telegram.com
 

 
WORCESTER- Timothy P. Staney, formerly of Worcester and now of Wesley Chapel, Fla., has partially settled his lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by the Rev. Jean-Paul Gagnon and Raymond Tremblay, a former religious education teacher.

Mention of the settlement was recorded Friday in Worcester Superior Court, but the actual settlement papers are not filed with the court.

The lawyers involved would not discuss terms of settlement, but no paperwork filed with the court shows there was admission of guilt by Rev. Gagnon or Mr. Tremblay, or if any payment had been made.

The Diocese of Worcester, also named in the suit, was not dismissed and litigation will proceed against the diocese.

Mr. Staney and his parents, Joseph C. and Corinne Staney of Spencer, were represented by Daniel J. Shea of Houston. Mr. Tremblay was represented by James J. Gribouski of Worcester. Rev. Gagnon was represented by Edward P. Ryan Jr. of Fitchburg.

Agreement was made to dismiss the suit with prejudice, meaning Mr. Staney and his parents cannot bring further action against Rev. Gagnon and Mr. Tremblay, but the settlement does not dismiss that part of the suit that names the Worcester Diocese. Mr. Tremblay agreed to dismiss his counterclaim against the Staneys.

Mr. Ryan said his client has repeatedly said he was innocent and never caused harm to Mr. Staney.

"Father Gagnon is pleased with the outcome of this case and looks forward to complete vindication in any other matters," he said.

Mr. Shea said his clients, the Staneys, were willing to settle because they came to believe that Rev. Gagnon and Mr. Tremblay "are to a lesser extent victims of an abusive and arrogant church structure."

"The suit against the diocese will go forward," he said. Mr. Shea said civil lawsuits generally are settled with no admission of guilt or innocence.

Mr. Gribouski said the court actions "speak for themselves."

Rev. Gagnon will be back in Uxbridge District Court June 30 for a pretrial conference on one charge of indecent assault and battery on a person older than 14 that was brought by District Attorney John J. Conte. This criminal charge has no connection to Mr. Staney.

The motion for entry of separate and final judgment entered with the court and signed by the lawyers states the Staneys had "settled their claims" with Rev. Gagnon and Mr. Tremblay and the settlement ends all claims the Staneys have against the defendants. Court records show that Mr. Staney, Mr. Tremblay and Rev. Gagnon agreed to the settlement. Records also show that Mr. Tremblay and Rev. Gagnon have been dismissed from the suit.

According to court records, Mr. Staney said he was sexually abused by Mr. Tremblay, a former religious education teacher at Holy Name of Jesus parish, starting in 1980 when he was 10. His suit also said he revealed the abuse in 1984 during a private sacramental confession to Rev. Gagnon, who then abused Mr. Staney from age 14 to 17.


 

 

Gagnon taken out of Parish

Joseph Fitzgerald

MILLVILLE -- In a move he says was made to remove the "spiritual burden" on the St. Augustine Parish community, Bishop Daniel P. Reilly Thursday announced that the Rev. Jean-Paul Gagnon has been placed on administrative leave and will no longer minister in the Diocese of Worcester.

"Father Gagnon will not be engaging in any public ministry in this diocese or elsewhere," Reilly said in a statement issued Thursday. "In keeping with our policy, we have cooperated fully with the district attorney’s office in its investigation of the allegations made against him (Gagnon) dating to the mid 1980s."
 

Gagnon, St. Augustine’s parish priest for seven years, was on a personal leave since last fall in the wake of a lawsuit filed by a Worcester man who accused Gagnon of sexual abuse.

Timothy Staney’s civil suit against Gagnon also names the Diocese of Worcester and religious educator Richard Tremblay as defendants. Staney alleges that the abuse began at Worcester’s Holy Name of Jesus parish in 1980, when he was 10, and lasted until he was 17. The abuse began with Tremblay and later continued with Gagnon, who were both working at the Holy Name of Jesus parish at the time, according to the suit.

Gagnon, Tremblay and the diocese have all denied Staney’s allegations.

Last month, Gagnon lost a court battle when Worcester Superior Court Justice Jeffrey A. Locke ordered that parts of a 10-page psychological evaluation of the priest be made part of the case file in Staney’s civil suit.

Diocese spokesman Ray Delisle said by having Gagnon placed on administrative leave he is effectively "out of the parish."

"By Canon law he’s still the pastor of the parish, but he will have no responsibilities or faculties to be acting as a priest there or anywhere else in the diocese," he said.

The decision to place Gagnon on administrative leave was made by Reilly based on a recommendation by the Diocesan Review Committee, formerly called the Pastoral Care Committee, which is investigating the Gagnon case.

"The bishop is the only one who has the canonical authority to make the decision. The committee and bishop both agreed this makes sense," Delisle said.

In his statement, Reilly said the decision to change the status from personal leave to administrative leave came during the course of the ongoing investigation by the Diocesan Review Committee.

"It’s part of the natural course of the investigation," Gagnon said. "The personal leave was a joint decision, but with the administrative leave this makes it a more definitive break. He (Gagnon) has to deal with defending himself and until that is resolved he is on administrative leave. This decision also leaves the way clear for the parishioners of St. Augustine to go on."

At present, the parish is being administered to by Deacon William Lucier and Rev. Robert Loftus is providing ministry to the parish community.

Delisle said Reilly will be sharing Thursday’s statement regarding Gagnon’s administrative leave with the parish this weekend.

Reilly has been meeting with the parish leadership and the staff of the Office for Healing and Prevention and has also met with parishioners to offer assistance and support.

In his statement, Reilly asked for "prayers and support for all involved in this matter and their families."

"In charity, I also ask for your prayers for Father Gagnon and his family during this time," Gagnon said. "My prayers and encouragement are with all members of our diocesan family during these difficult times. We will continue our pledge of commitment to work towards the protection and wellbeing of children in our care."

Parishioners Margaret M. Carroll and Lois Salome, who have mobilized parishioners during the crisis an effort to focus on St. Augustine’s future, reserved comment on the news until the parish is officially notified by the diocese.