Priest's attorney questions accuser's memory
Man breaks down during cross-examination
By Emanuella Grinberg
Court TV
EAST CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Court TV) -- A man who accuses a Boston priest of raping him when he was a boy was himself put on the defensive Thursday as a defense attorney tried to cast doubt on his memory and his credibility.
A lawyer for defrocked priest Paul Shanley threw the accuser's own words at him in a bid to persuade jurors that the now-27-year-old has a tendency "to forget, then remember, then forget again."
The attack came after defense lawyer Frank Mondano successfully argued that he should be able to continue referencing depositions the accuser made for a wrongful injury suit filed against the Boston Archdiocese. The suit was settled for $500,000 in April 2004.
The acrimonious day-long questioning evidently took a toll on the witness, who implored Judge Stephen Neel not to make him return Friday to continue.
"I understand that this may be difficult for you and I do not request it lightly but it is desirable that we complete your testimony," Neel said.
"Please don't make me," the accuser pleaded, crying. "I can't do this again, I can't start this again."
The civil settlement did not include stipulations barring the accuser's participation in criminal proceedings against Shanley, whom the Vatican defrocked in 2004 as a result of the allegations.
The alleged victim, who asked not to be named in news reports, has testified that the sexual abuse he suffered at Shanley's hands caused numerous problems in his life. When he was in high school, he said, he began using steroids "to make me feel better about myself," and began drinking "to excess."
The steroids caused a rift between him and his father, he testified, which forced him out of the house to seek refuge in parks and parking lots, occasionally sleeping on friends' couches.
Mondano, however, questioned the alleged drug problem.
"Do you recall saying anything to the effect that you had no history of substance abuse?" the defense lawyer asked, referring to the depositions.
"I would not have done that," the accuser said, but Mondano produced records showing otherwise.
Prosecutors claim Shanley assaulted the accuser between 1983 and 1989 in the now-defunct St. John the Evangelist Parish in Newton, Massachusetts, beginning when the boy was 6 years old.
Shanley was indicted in June 2002 on several charges stemming from the allegations of his accuser and three other men, who claimed the priest removed them from catechism class and molested them in the church.
All four men claimed to have repressed the memories until other allegations against Shanley were made public amid the abuse scandal which began plaguing the Boston Archdiocese in 2001.
Shanley, who has maintained a subdued demeanor in court, is facing life in prison for charges pertaining to only this accuser, who is a former military police officer and now works as a firefighter in his hometown of Newton.
Broken dreams
 Paul Shanley, in court earlier this week. |  |
Mondano also asked the witness about his career in semi-pro baseball, which he pursued for four seasons after high school, with stints in semi-pro teams in Tallahassee, Florida.
The alleged victim said he returned to Newton because his student loans ran out and he was burned out from excessive drinking.
"Is it your position you lost your ability to pursue your career as a major league ballplayer as a result of what Paul Shanley did to you?" Mondano asked.
"Yes," he said.
"Do you think living in the street the year before contributed to your stress level?" Mondano asked.
"Probably," he said.
The witness's responses grew increasingly combative in the afternoon, when Mondano focused on interviews the young man gave to the media after he went public with his allegations.
He drew upon statements from what the alleged victim has called his "emotional barf bag," a journal his personal injury lawyer told him to keep after his recovered memories allegedly boiled to the surface.
"I wanted to talk about it so I would feel better about it," he testified.
"When did you decide you didn't want any more publicity? I'm looking for a date," said Mondano.
"You're not going to get one," the witness shot back. "I never wanted any publicity for this case."
Mondano quoted a journal entry from the day the New York Times published an article on the abuse scandal, for which the young man was interviewed.
"'Two quotes from me but no background or anything. I'm pissed,'" the lawyer read.
Once the questioning returned to details of the alleged abuse, the witness broke down on the stand, prompting a recess.
When he returned, Mondano attempted to draw out inconsistencies in the accuser's version of the timeline of events after he recovered his memories.
The lawyer produced medical records showing that the accuser was in touch with a personal injury lawyer before he went for psychological counseling on Peterson Air Force base, where he was stationed at the time.
Neel did not announce publicly whether he would force the accuser to return to testify Friday. He was not testifying under a subpoena.
"He'll be back," Mondano told reporters after court ended for the day. "Or the Commonwealth has no case."
