Sex abuse victims seek help to track ex-priest’s whereabouts

BOSTON » In the 1960s and ‘70s, Paul Shanley was a popular street priest who counseled gay and troubled youths.

Decades later, he was convicted of raping a boy at a Newton church in the 1980s and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Shanley, now 86, is due to be released Friday, prompting a firestorm of protest from sexual abuse victims.

On Wednesday, two men who are among dozens to accuse Shanley of sexual abuse appeared at a news conference with their lawyers and victim advocates to warn the public about Shanley’s release and to ask for help in monitoring him.

John Harris said he was a 21-year-old struggling with his decision to reveal his homosexuality in 1979 when someone suggested he go see Shanley for counseling.

“He raped me under the pretense of helping me,” Harris said.

Denis O’Connor said he was 14 when Shanley sodomized him in the late 1960s.

“If he’s released, we’ve got more children that will be abused,” O’Connor said.

Boston attorneys Mitchell Garabedian and Carmen Durso said they represent dozens of men who allege that Shanley sexually abused them as children.

Prosecutors sought to hold Shanley in custody beyond his sentence under a law that allows civil commitment of people who are deemed to be sexually dangerous. But two experts hired by the state found that he did not meet the legal criteria to continue to hold him.

Durso said he was told by prosecutors that the experts cited his advanced age as one reason he is no longer dangerous.

“We believe that he continues to pose a threat,” Durso said.

“If Paul Shanley doesn’t qualify as a sexually dangerous person, then nobody will qualify,” he said.

Shanley, who was convicted in 2005, will be placed on probation for 10 years after he is released. Garabedian said Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan told him that Shanley will not be required to wear an electronic tracking device. He will be required to register as a Level 3, or high-risk, sex offender, a designation that means his photo and other information about him will be posted on the state Sex Offender Registry Board’s website.