Disgraced Pedophile Priest Released From Prison
A former priest convicted of rape was recently released after serving 12 years in prison.
Paul Shanley is a disgraced former priest who was convicted back in 2005 after it was proven that he repeatedly raped a Sunday school student back in the 1980s.
Prior to his conviction, Shanley served as a priest in St. Jean's Parish in Newton, Massachusetts, where he ministered to alienated teens and troubled youth during the '60s and '70s. Years after, several of Shanley's victims came out claiming that the priest had abused them when they were younger. All in all, there were about two dozen people who claimed that Shanley had either molested or raped them.
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In light of these claims of abuse, Shanley was finally defrocked by the Vatican in 2004 and a year after that, his conviction was finalized after it was confirmed that he had in fact raped a boy. The Sunday school student abused by Shanley, who was already an adult, appeared in court and testified that the priest would regularly take him on "special lessons" in his office.
Shanley was sent to the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater.
Now, 12 years later, it has been confirmed by officials that the priest has in fact been released to the public. With this news, several of Shanley's victims expressed their concern about the pedophile priest's freedom especially since he will be less supervised.
His freedom also entails that he doesn't have to wear an electronic monitoring device. Lawyers of Shanley's victims emphasized that since he had mistreated a great number of people, he still continues to be a risk.
However, Ware Police Chief Shawn Crevier reassured that he will do all that he can to protect the rights of the citizens and Shanley's as well. He also assured that the disgraced priest would have to register as a sex offender and would not be able to come in contact with minors below 16 years of age.
