BishopAccountability.org
	Ex-Billerica Priest Cleared after Criminal E-Mail Probe By Matt Murphy Lowell Sun [Billerica MA] May 18, 2005 BILLERICA -- No criminal charges will be filed against the Rev. Michael Randone, who was fired as chaplain of Central Catholic High School. The Essex County district attorney's office found no reason to charge the former Billerica priest. Randone, 36, was fired from his alma mater in March after he was accused of sending inappropriate online messages to students from a personal computer. The communication after school hours constituted a violation of school policy, but there was also some question as to whether the messages were sexual in nature. At the time he was fired, officials at the private school in Lawrence said Randone denied sending any inappropriate e-mail. "The e-mails were investigated, but no charges will be filed," Essex County District Attorney spokesman Steve O'Connell said. "There was nothing in those e-mails that rose to a criminal level." Following his dismissal, Randone resigned from Sacred Hearts Parish in Haverhill, where he was pastor, and was restricted from doing any public ministry, Boston Archdiocese spokeswoman Kelly Lynch said. As of last week, that status had not changed, but Lynch said she was unsure if archdiocese officials were aware that the district attorney's office had concluded its investigation. Many church officials were in Florida yesterday with Boston Archbishop Sean O'Malley, who was presiding over his father's funeral, and no additional information was available. A woman who identified herself as Randone's mother at her Methuen home said her son was staying somewhere outside of Massachusetts and would not be available to comment. "I don't think he knows what the future holds," she said. At St. Theresa Church in Billerica, where Randone served as the Rev. Eugene Tully's assistant for three years, from 2000 to 2003, parishioners have been praying for the popular priest. "The people that don't know him only heard about the accusations, but he's well-loved around the neighborhood," St. Theresa parishioner Dorothy Graham said. "A lot of people have been writing support letters to him. The guy's an awesome priest, but, unfortunately, that's what happens this day and age." Central Catholic officials did not return calls seeking comment.