Keith Townsend, a 52-year-old survivor of childhood sexual abuse, commented on the death of Ronald Paquin, a defrocked Catholic priest who died in custody at age 83 on 11 September. Townsend expressed hope that Paquin’s passing would provide closure for victims and their families affected by the clergyman’s crimes. Townsend had successfully pursued criminal charges against Paquin, describing the lasting emotional impact of abuse as “a big burden in our hearts and on our backs.”
Paquin’s case became a central part of the clergy sexual abuse scandal involving the Catholic archdiocese of Boston, which prompted significant institutional consequences including the resignation of Archbishop Bernard Law at the end of 2002. In 2002, Paquin had pleaded guilty to sexually abusing an altar server between 1989 and 1992 at St John the Baptist church in Haverhill, Massachusetts. These crimes were initially exposed through a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative series by the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, which later became the subject of an Oscar-winning film.
Following Paquin’s release from prison in 2015, Townsend came forward with additional allegations, reporting that he had been abused by Paquin during camping trips to Kennebunkport, Maine, between 1985 and 1989 when he was between eight and 13 years old. Townsend described experiencing substance abuse and incarceration as consequences of the childhood trauma. A Maine grand jury indicted Paquin in 2017 on charges of gross sexual misconduct. Following a jury trial in November 2018, Paquin was found guilty in connection with Townsend and sentenced in May 2019 to 16 additional years in prison at Mountain View correctional facility in Charleston, Maine.
Townsend reflected on his personal recovery from addiction following the abuse and emphasized his focus on protecting other potential victims rather than seeking retribution. He credited Maine’s legal system with aggressively prosecuting the case after Massachusetts authorities released Paquin. Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented multiple victims of abuse by Paquin and other clerics and was portrayed in the Spotlight film, noted that the movie’s depiction of Paquin’s case provided validation to survivors, conveying that they were not alone and should not bear guilt for crimes committed against them.
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