Catholic priest pleads guilty to 1970s sexual assault of Baltimore boy
A Catholic priest has admitted to sexually abusing a boy in Baltimore in the mid-1970s, authorities said this week.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said Father Laurence LaPointe, 81, admitted to the abuse after an investigation led by the attorney general’s office.
The prosecutor’s office said in a release that LaPointe pleaded guilty on Nov. 4 to a fourth-degree sex offense and common-law assault.
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Charles Dorsey III sentenced the priest to three years in prison, which the judge immediately suspended; LaPointe was also sentenced to five years of supervised probation.
Among the terms of his probation is the stipulation that LaPointe “have no direct contact with minors under the age of 18” and that he “not volunteer or work in any educational setting involving individuals under the age of 18.”
LaPointe’s victim offered a victim impact statement during the court proceedings, according to the attorney general’s office; the victim said that with the guilty plea, the “heavy burden” of the priest’s abuse “passes from me to [LaPointe].”
“I hope he will find the courage to acknowledge any other misconduct, voluntarily and fully, without requiring other victims to endure years of investigation, the prospect of a trial, and the emotional burden of having to prove what happened to them,” the victim said.
“Those who were sexually assaulted as children continue to carry the burden of that trauma long after they reach adulthood,” Brown said in the press release. “No matter how much time passes, we will help lift that weight off survivors’ shoulders and hold accountable anyone who abuses a position of trust to inflict such devastating harm on our children.”
LaPointe is currently a priest in the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut. The diocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his status there.
The Norwich Diocese had announced that LaPointe had been placed on ministry leave in March when the allegations surfaced. He had been serving as pastor of Corpus Christi Parish at the time.
Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/catholic-priest-pleads-guilty-to-1970s-sexual-assault-of-baltimore-boy
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