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  New Charge; Second Man Claims Ryan Abused Him

By Robin Washington and Tom Mashberg
Boston Herald
March 27, 2002

PROVIDENCE — A second former Catholic Memorial High School sports star stepped forward yesterday to accuse Msgr. Frederick J. Ryan, the one-time vice chancellor of the Archdiocese of Boston, of child sex abuse - acts he said occurred across state lines when he was a teenager.

Between emotional outbursts, a sobbing David Carney told a media throng assembled in the rain on the State House lawn here that the priest sexually abused him when he was underaged.

"I was molested by Father Ryan in the state of Rhode Island in a hotel room," he said. "I did nothing wrong. I've been living with it for 20 years of my life."

Carney's allegation follows that of Townsend's Mary O'Loughlin, who said Friday her late son, Danny, was molested by the priest, and a class action suit filed Thursday by Carney's high school teammate Garry M. Garland claiming sexual misconduct by Ryan.

Daniel J. Shea, the attorney for Carney and Garland, said another victim was present at the event in an SUV but was too distraught to come out. Though Shea declined to release any personal details about Carney or his abuse yesterday, sources previously told the Herald that the charges include allegations that Ryan took him to Rhode Island to get a tattoo of a devil.

"We've come to Rhode Island today because the priest sex abuse scandal has now reached interstate proportions," he said.

Shea said he is exploring federal charges and is consulting with former Rhode Island Attorney General Arlene Violet - a former nun - to encourage prosecutors in that state to consider criminal charges against the priest, who may not be sheltered by statute of limitations laws because his primary residence since the alleged crime has been in Massachusetts.

On Sunday, the 38-year-old Garland expanded his charges to say the late Humberto Cardinal Medeiros also molested him, touching his groin area in the chancery when he was brought there by Ryan for sex when he was a teen.

The bulk of reporters' attention yesterday was focused on Garland, however, who has received strong criticism since adding Medeiros' name to his accusation two days after first naming Ryan.

"Why didn't I say it in the first place? It took me 24 years to come to grips with this. So if two days is a big deal, that's OK," Garland said, reiterating previous assertions by his lawyer that his allegations have been incremental because of the pain of his healing process.

"Do you know about shame and guilt? I have a lot of shame and a lot of guilt. . . . You don't trust yourself. You don't know if you're gay, you don't know if you're straight," he said.

Garland said that over the weekend he was as emotionally distraught as Carney was yesterday but that reaching out to help his former teammate has helped him to deal with his own pain.

"His girlfriend called me and she was in tears," Garland said. "I rushed to his house and I spent (Saturday) night with him and he told me what happened to him."

Ryan has been removed from his position as pastor of St. Joseph's in Kingston due to the charges. Donna Morrissey, a spokeswoman for Bernard Cardinal Law, declined further comment on the Medeiros charge, deferring to a statement Monday calling Garland's accusations "character assassination."

Numerous callers to the Herald have questioned Garland's motivations since the Medeiros accusations, suggesting he is in financial trouble and is only filing the charges for the money.

"He just has his hand out," John Perry of Fall River, who had Medeiros as a camp counselor, said Monday.

While sources have said Garland is close to losing the expensive Hanover mini-mansion he purchased early last year, he said his two mortgages on the property total about $ 600,000, and that other than auto payments he has no major financial obligations.

Plymouth County Registry of Deeds documents support the house claim.

"Financially, I don't need to work right now," he said.

"People are welcome to see my W-2 forms or speak to my financial adviser if they want to review my finances."

Garland was a star salesman at EMC for much of the 1990s, a golden era for the Hopkinton producer of computer storage. In 2000 he won the company's Big Hitter Award and received several six-figure bonuses over the years.

EMC, like many high-tech companies, sought out athletes in sales jobs. They were considered disciplined and fiercely competitive. It was not unusual for top salesmen to earn $ 500,000 to $ 1 million a year in the high-tech boom years.

Things went bad for Garland in his final stretch at EMC, a former colleague said. He joined Ikon, a high-tech firm, in August 2001, receiving a $ 200,000 signing bonus and a salary of $ 20,000 a month.

Garland says he was fired by Ikon in January for alcohol abuse, and has since been on disability, with post-traumatic stress disorder and diagnosed long-term depression, and has been spent 47 days in Alcoholics Anonymous.

In the mid-1980s, Garland served five years' probation for assault and battery after a murder charge against him was dismissed. He was also arrested a half-dozen times for weapons possession and assault.

Questioned repeatedly about his accusations against Medeiros, who is not alive to defend himself, Garland said he has only been "alive" himself those 47 days.

"I've been dead 24 years. He lived until (1983)," Garland said, adding that he did not want to come forward but felt compelled by God.

"I've got four little kids. You think I want to be here? You think this is what I wanted to really do? God chose me. I really believe that. This has been a journey and He brought me. I had a spiritual experience and he told me He brought me here today."

 
 

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