Keith Townsend, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse by Ronald Paquin, a defrocked Boston Catholic priest, commented on Paquin’s death in prison at age 83 on 11 September. Townsend stated his hope that the death helps victims and their families achieve closure and continue moving forward with their lives.
Paquin’s case became prominent following a Pulitzer-winning investigative series by the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, which exposed clergy sexual abuse and cover-up scandals within the Catholic archdiocese of Boston. In 2002, Paquin pleaded guilty to sexually abusing an altar server between 1989 and 1992 at St John the Baptist church in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He was defrocked and imprisoned, and his case contributed to the resignation of the archdiocese’s archbishop, Bernard Law, and prompted policy reforms across the U.S. Catholic Church.
After Paquin’s release in 2015, Townsend came forward with allegations that Paquin had abused him during camping trips to Kennebunkport, Maine, between 1985 and 1989, when Townsend was between eight and thirteen years old. A Maine grand jury indicted Paquin in 2017 on charges of gross sexual misconduct. Following a jury trial in November 2018, Paquin was convicted regarding Townsend’s allegations, though acquitted regarding another individual’s charges. Maine judge Wayne Douglas sentenced Paquin to an additional 16 years in prison in May 2019. Paquin was housed at Mountain View correctional facility in Charleston, Maine, at the time of his death.
Townsend, now a New Hampshire resident, reflected on his recovery from substance abuse addiction that followed the abuse, attributing his efforts to pursue charges against Paquin to protecting other children. He expressed gratitude for the Spotlight film’s role in raising awareness about Paquin’s actions. Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented multiple victims and was portrayed in the 2015 film by Stanley Tucci, noted that the film provided survivors with awareness that they were not alone in their experiences.
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