Keith Townsend, 52, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, expressed hope that the death of Ronald Paquin, a defrocked Catholic priest, will help other victims and their families move forward. Paquin died in custody on 11 September at age 83 while serving a sentence at Mountain View correctional facility in Charleston, Maine.
Paquin became a central figure in the clergy sexual abuse scandal involving the Boston Catholic archdiocese after pleading guilty in 2002 to sexually abusing an altar server between 1989 and 1992 at St John the Baptist church in Haverhill, Massachusetts. His case was documented in a Pulitzer-winning investigation by the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team and later depicted in the Oscar-winning 2015 film of the same name. Following his release in 2015, Townsend came forward to report additional abuse he had experienced during camping trips with Paquin between 1985 and 1989, when Townsend was between 8 and 13 years old.
A Maine grand jury indicted Paquin in 2017 on charges of gross sexual misconduct. A jury found him guilty in November 2018 regarding Townsend’s allegations, though acquitting him of abusing another individual. Judge Wayne Douglas sentenced Paquin to an additional 16 years in prison in May 2019.
Townsend described his journey of overcoming substance abuse addiction that he attributed to the trauma of his abuse, and emphasized that his pursuit of Paquin’s conviction aimed to protect other children. He credited Maine authorities with aggressively prosecuting the case. Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented numerous victims and was portrayed in the Spotlight film, noted that the movie provided validation to survivors by demonstrating they were not alone and not at fault.
Townsend stated that Paquin’s imprisonment, regardless of his recent death, saved lives and represented the outcome that mattered most to him.
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