BishopAccountability.org
	Priest to Face Charges By Joseph B. Nadeau Woonsocket Call [Bellingham MA] February 18, 2005 BELLINGHAM -- A decision by a Quebec Court of Appeals upholding the extradition of former Assumption Parish priest Paul M. Desilets to Massachusetts could be the beginning of a resolution of the long-pending child sexual assault case against the priest, according to Detective Sgt. Richard Perry. "This is substantial," said Perry, who worked with Detective Christopher Ferreira in early 2002 to bring the local charges against the former local priest.!Desilets, now 81, faces 32 counts of sexually abusing altar boys during his service at Assumption between 1974 and 1984. He was indicted by a Worcester County grand jury on the charges in May 2002. He was then arrested by Canadian authorities, at the request of Worcester County District Attorney John Conte in October of that year, but he has resisted his extradition from Canada since that time. The former Assumption priest had been living with the Clerics of St. Viator in Joliet, Quebec, at the time of his arrest in October and was released by the Quebec Superior Court in Montreal while his appeal of extradition was heard. After learning Thursday of the decision denying Desilets’ appeal of extradition, Perry said the Canadian action was a "significant" step toward a Worcester County Superior Court hearing of the case. Perry said he had not yet had a chance to discuss the extradition process with Conte’s office due to his work on an early morning house fire Thursday. But Perry said he would be in touch with the district attorney today to find out more about the prospects for Desilets’ arraignment on the charges. "My case is done. We were just waiting for the extradition, and now it’s just a matter of it going forward through the courts," he said. Perry and Ferreira began investigating the case in early 2002 after several former altar boys from Assumption alleged Desilets had sexually assaulted them in the church and rectory when they were between the ages of 11 and 16. As the case unfolded, a total of 21 former altar boys stepped forward with allegations against the priest. Several of the allegations were deemed older than the statute of limitations for the crimes, and 18 of the victims ultimately testified against Desilets during the grand jury proceedings. The victims also participated in the civil case involving 80 allegations of abuse against Catholic Archdiocese of Boston priests, filed in early 2002 and later resolved in a multimillion-dollar settlement with the archdiocese. When informed of Desilets’ pending extradition Thursday, Joe Fleuette III said he hoped it would lead to closure on the long-pending charges. "It’s the final chapter," Fleuette said. "A lot of the victims want closure from it." A trial on the charges would mean Fleuette and other alleged victims would have to appear in court to relate their past experiences, but the now 41-year-old local resident said he is still willing to take that step. "It’s still pending, and I will be there to testify," he said. The time the case has remained open has come with an emotional cost for the victims, he said. "I didn’t think that he would ever come back, period, when it stalled," Fleuette said. "I just kind of erased it from my memory. I can’t keep opening the wounds from all those years ago, so hopefully it will go quickly."
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