c. 2004 Religion News Service
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. _ The former Catholic bishop of Springfield will escape state criminal prosecution after becoming the highest-ranking U.S. cleric indicted on child sexual abuse charges.
But there is still a possibility Thomas L. Dupre could face federal prosecution on charges of transporting two boys across state lines for sex more than two decades ago.
Dupre became the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States to be charged with sexual abuse in an indictment made public Monday. But Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett said the statute of limitations would prevent him from prosecuting Dupre on the two counts of child rape.
A grand jury handed down two indictments, each charging Dupre with multiple rapes of a child under 16 years of age, one beginning in about 1976, the other in about 1979. At that time, the statute of limitations on such crimes was six years, Bennett said.
The grand jury did not indict Dupre on conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges, which might have presented Bennett with a better opportunity to seek a trial. Investigators had been looking at the possibility that the bishop might have destroyed an e-mail about the abuse and two letters from the mother of one of Dupre’s accusers late last year _ a time frame that would have allowed prosecution.
Bennett said he is forwarding investigative records to the U.S. attorney’s office for possible prosecution. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Springfield would not say whether his office would prosecute.
Dupre resigned as bishop of the Springfield Diocese at age 70 on Feb. 11, a day after the Springfield Republican newspaper confronted him with allegations he abused two minors more than 20 years ago. At the time, neither alleged victim had come forward.
Dupre attributed his early retirement to poor health. But The Republican reported the same day that the mother of one of the two men Dupre was accused of abusing had confirmed an anonymous tip about the abuse.
The mother had unsuccessfully tried to get her son to press charges before the newspaper confronted the bishop. The two men later said Dupre carried gay pornography in a briefcase and took them out of state for sexual encounters when he was a priest more than two decades ago.
One of the boys was a 12-year-old recent immigrant at the time the abuse started, the other was older than 14, according to the men, who later hired Boston lawyer Roderick MacLeish to represent them. MacLeish successfully sued the Boston Archdiocese for widespread sexual abuse by clergy members.
Dupre has been treated at St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Md., this year. The facility is known for treating priests with a variety of disorders, including those charged with molesting children.
A civil suit was filed in March by the two men accusing Dupre of sexual abuse. In a mandatory response to the suit, Dupre invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
Four U.S. bishops have resigned after being accused of sexual misconduct, but Dupre is the first to have been indicted.
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