Accused Pedophile Priest Arrested in San Diego
Thu May 2,12:03 PM ET
BOSTON (Reuters) - An accused pedophile priest at the center of a sex-abuse scandal in Boston that has engulfed Cardinal Bernard Law and the Vatican (news - web sites) was arrested Thursday by San Diego authorities, prosecutors said.
Father Paul Shanley was arrested on suspicion of three counts of child rape at about 10:45 a.m. EDT in San Diego, according to a spokeswoman for the Middlesex County district attorney in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Cardinal Law, the senior U.S. Catholic Church prelate, met secretly with Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II after documents revealed that Law supported Shanley even though he knew the priest was accused of sexually abusing children.
Between 1983 and 1990, according to authorities, Shanley, now 71, raped the male victim, now 24, when the victim was between 6 and 13 years old. The alleged incident took place at St. Jean's parish in Newton, outside Boston.
Shanley's whereabouts have been unknown since revelations about his alleged abuse were made public. The Newton, Massachusetts, police department got a warrant for his arrest on Wednesday night, according to prosecutors. |
