But the CDF’s judgment in the McCarrick case seemed to sidestep the legal complexity by finding McCarrick guilty of abusing both minors and adults. It is not clear whether the CDF’s judgment against McCarrick included the allegations for which he now faces Massachusetts charges, but it is possible.Ĭanonically, the allegation is made complicated by the fact that the alleged victim, at age 16, was not classified in the Church’s law as a minor at the time of alleged assault. While records of that process are not publicly available, the former cardinal was found guilty of “solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power,” according to a Vatican press release. McCarrick was laicized in 2019 after an administrative penal process at the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Could McCarrick face new canonical charges? In Massachusetts, McCarrick can be criminally charged with assaults alleged to have taken place in 1974 because he was not a state resident and the statute of limitations’ time period for prosecution was effectively suspended when he left the state, according to the Boston Globe.Įach criminal count against McCarrick carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment in Massachusetts. It has generally been perceived that the allegations of McCarrick’s criminal acts had fallen beyond state statutes of limitation, effectively preventing his prosecution in state courts. McCarrick has been accused of serially sexually abusing and coercing both children and adults, and been found guilty within the Church of canonical crimes, called delicts, by an administrative penal process. The alleged victim claims that McCarrick molested him subsequently at hotels in Massachusetts. The alleged abuse in Massachusetts reportedly took place at the victim’s brother’s wedding reception. Rather, the alleged victim, who has not been named, says McCarrick was a family friend, and that McCarrick had molested him frequently, on family trips to several states. The alleged molestation was not reported as a singular occurrence. Here’s what you need to know: What is McCarrick alleged to have done?Īccording to court filings obtained by the Boston Globe, McCarrick is alleged to have sexually molested a 16-year-old-boy during a 1974 wedding reception at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The story was first reported Thursday by the Boston Globe. McCarrick, 91, is summoned to appear in a Massachusetts courtroom Aug. Some information for this report came from the Associated Press.Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick was charged in Massachusetts Wednesday with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14. Garabedian's work was portrayed in the 2016 movie "Spotlight,” about the Globe’s own investigation into sexual abuse allegations against the Catholic church.Īn attorney for McCarrick, Barry Coburn, told The Associated Press that they “look forward to addressing the case in the courtroom.” to ever be criminally charged with a sexual crime against a minor. Garabedian said McCarrick is the first cardinal in the U.S. The lawyer for the man making the allegations is Mitchell Garabedian, a well-known attorney for church sexual abuse victims. But authorities were thwarted from pursuing criminal charges because the statute of limitations had expired in those cases.īut the report explains McCarrick can be charged in connection with the Wellesley allegations because he was not a Massachusetts resident and the statute of limitations stopped running when he left the state. The Boston Globe report says several men in New York and New Jersey alleged McCarrick had abused them in the 1970s as well. The former archbishop of Washington was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019 after a Vatican investigation into years-long allegations that he was a sexual predator. The report said a summons has been issued for McCarrick, who now lives in Missouri, to appear in court. The Boston Globe reported Thursday it has obtained court records showing McCarrick, now 91, has been charged with three counts of indecent assault and battery stemming from an incident involving a 16-year-old boy during a wedding reception at Wellesley College. state of Massachusetts with sexually assaulting a teenage boy in the 1970s. A Boston newspaper is reporting defrocked former Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been charged in the northeast U.S.
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