Justin Steponaitis

January 14, 1993

JURY TRIAL SOUGHT FOR PRIEST

Author: George B. Griffin; Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

WORCESTER - A lawyer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester said yesterday he would demand a jury trial in his defense of a retired priest accused of sexually molesting an altar boy at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Athol.

Lawyer James G. Reardon said the Rev. Justin Steponaitis has denied the allegations and the diocese has received no information to support them.

Steponaitis declined comment Monday, but yesterday's Boston Globe reported that he denied the allegation before refusing to discuss the matter further. There was no answer last night at Steponaitis' residence in Putnam, Conn.

Reardon said he had instructed Steponaitis not to talk about the case with reporters because of the "lurid manner in which the Telegram & Gazette is covering this."
At issue is a civil lawsuit filed in Worcester Superior Court Monday on behalf of Michael A. Lavigne of Athol, who alleged he was sexually assaulted while serving as an altar boy. The lawsuit said the assaults occurred between 1971 and 1976.

PRIEST FOR 50 YEARS

Lavigne now is 32. Steponaitis retired from active duty in 1987 after serving as a priest in the diocese for 50 years.

"As the attorney for diocese, we have received no evidence for any of those allegations, nor has the diocese received anything to support those allegations," Reardon said. "The attorney for Lavigne has never had any documents presented to us that would give us reason to talk about a settlement of the matter, other than one medical bill which was not backed up by a doctor's report.

"I resent the fact that increasingly attorneys have decided to try these cases in the paper. And I certainly resent the fact that lurid coverage is not doing anything to alleviate any of these strong allegations."

Last week, current and former parishioners of St. Rose of Lima Church in Northboro alleged that a former visiting priest, the Rev. Victor A. Frobas, had raped at least one young boy and sexually assaulted others in 1978. District Attorney John J. Conte is investigating the allegations made by Robert A. Malo of Grafton, who is one of Frobas' accusers.

Malo, now 27, told the Telegram & Gazette that he had been assaulted and raped by Frobas in the rectory of the church during a weekend 13 years ago. Malo and three other alleged victims have described sexual actions of varying degrees on Frobas' part, and three parents have told the Telegram & Gazette they believe their children were assaulted by the priest.

In December, a lawyer in New Mexico named the Worcester Diocese in a lawsuit on behalf of two people who alleged they were molested by one of the diocese's priests while the priest was under treatment in Albuquerque for pedophilia. Lawyer Bruce E. Pasternack of Albuquerque said the civil suit charges negligence and conspiracy by the diocese and others for allowing the Rev. David A. Holley to be assigned to parishes in New Mexico.

Since then, former Boylston resident William L. Schultz, now of Natick, and Paul T. Roughan of Worcester have said they and other teen-age boys had rebuffed Holley many times when he attempted to touch them sexually.

In September of last year, the Rev. Ronald D. Provost, former pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Barre, was indicted on a charge of soliciting a child to pose for nude photographs. His trial is scheduled for Jan. 28 in Worcester Superior Court.

In September and again in October of last year, a Worcester County grand jury indicted the Rev. Joseph A. Fredette on numerous charges alleging he sexually assaulted youths who were placed in his care in the early 1970s. Fredette, a former member of the Assumptionist order, was the live-in director of Come Alive Inc., a halfway house for delinquent boys, in the early 1970s.

Fredette is believed to be living in Canada. Gov. William F. Weld signed extradition papers last month seeking Fredette's return to the United States to stand trial.

January 12, 1993

ATHOL MAN SUES DIOCESE \ PRIEST ACCUSED OF MOLESTATION

Author: George B. Griffin; Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

A 32-year-old man is suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, claiming he was sexually assaulted by a priest in the 1970s while serving as an altar boy at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Athol.

Michael A. Lavigne of Athol, in a lawsuit filed yesterday in Worcester Superior Court, said former parish priest Justin Steponaitis "sexually molested numerous young parish children," including Lavigne, from 1971 to 1976.

The suit says the priest acted improperly and the diocese failed in its responsibility to oversee his actions. Lavigne is seeking unspecified damages, including costs for medical treatment. It is the second lawsuit against the diocese in less than a month alleging sexual assaults by former local priests.

Reached last night at his home in Putnam, Conn., Steponaitis declined to comment on the allegations.

"You should talk to the chancery," he said. "Yes, I know about the lawsuit ... the bishop is my boss, and they want it this way, that it be handled through the chancery. They said so, and I'm telling you that's how I want it.

`HE WILL DENY IT'

Bishop Timothy J. Harrington referred questions to Msgr. Edmond T. Tinsley, diocesan vicar general. Tinsley said the diocese had been made aware of the allegations against Steponaitis and would contact him.

"He will deny it," Tinsley said. "He will deny the allegation."

The notifications to Steponaitis and subsequent legal responses will be handled "pastorally," Tinsley said.

Lavigne and his lawyer, Sherrill P. Cline, told the Telegram & Gazette in an interview that the lawsuit was filed after attempts to resolve the issue out of court were met with denials and adversarial letters from lawyers, some of which dated to the summer of 1991.

Cline said the core allegation is that Steponaitis forced Lavigne to engage in oral sex.

SIXTH GRADE

Lavigne said the assaults began when he was in the sixth grade, about a year after he became an altar boy at the Athol church in 1971. The assaults lasted three years, he said, and usually occurred in the church rectory.

Lavigne said that since the incidents, he has suffered long-term psychological stress and personal difficulties.

"The effect this has had on me is that approximately three years ago, when this started to surface, I was going through a very hard time," he said. "I had a lot of depression and unmanageability in my life. I started talking about what had happened in therapy sessions and things got worse. A lot of the issues, the major issues, are trust.

"Trust in people in general is a major issue - self-esteem, shame, embarrassment about what happened, humiliation, all of those are all hard issues to deal with. So in one form or another it does affect your life in many forms."

Lavigne said he wanted to recover the costs of treatment related to the incidents, but, most of all, "I do feel this priest should step forward and should be exposed for what he did."
Parishioners who knew Steponaitis during the time he served at the church said they were shocked by the allegations.

"I think it's impossible," said Stephanie Krustapentus, a member of the church for about 60 years. "It's preposterous and totally false. We never had a holier priest than Father Steponaitis. The guy (Lavigne) must be out of his mind. I stand behind Father Steponaitis 100 percent, as do the rest of our family."

Eugene Ferrari Sr., who has been active in the church as a lector, fund-raiser and member of the church council, said, "My reaction to the allegation is I'm amazed. I can't believe it. As far as I'm concerned, I have nothing bad to say about Father Steponaitis.

"I had four boys who served there as altar boys and no one ever said anything bad to me," Ferrari said. The boys "never suggested anything wrong going on. I really find it hard to believe. ... I'm totally shocked. I don't believe it."

Parishioners said Steponaitis was well-liked. He retired in September 1987 at the maximum age of 75 after celebrating his 50th anniversary Mass three months earlier.
The Rev. Raymond Messier, the current pastor of the church, declined comment.

"Never, and I repeat never, did I ever hear any accusations concerning Father Steponaitis with any of the altar boys," said Willard Chiasson, a lector at the church and former superintendent of the Narragansett Regional School District in Templeton. "He was viewed as a very manly, pious person, very devoted to Catholicism. He encouraged wide participation in the school. ... I'm just flabbergasted. I don't know what to say. It's very upsetting to hear the accusation. He was very highly respected and regarded within the church."

Staff Reporter Ian Donnis contributed to this story.