The Case Against Keating: No Jail Time for Sexually Abusive Priest

October 27, 2010

No Jail Time for Sexually Abusive Priest

Keating Cuts Deal to Keep Priest Out of Jail Despite Multiple Cases of Abuse

Washington- Bill Keating’s eagerness to keep criminals out of jail even extends to sexual predators who commit crimes against children. In 2004, Keating’s office cut a deal with a priest who admitted to multiple acts of sexual abuse against young boys, keeping him out of jail.

“After declining to give jail time to a priest who admitted to sexually abusing young boys, it’s clear that Bill Keating refuses to stand up for the people of Massachusetts,” said NRCC spokewoman Joanna Burgos. “Keating’s willingness to cut deals with some of society’s most appalling criminals only proves that he’s unfit for public service. Massachusetts families deserve a Congressman who will put their best interests first, but Keating has spent his political career doing the exact opposite.”

CASE #6: Sexually Abusive Priest Gets Deal and Avoids Jail Time

KEATING’S PLEA DEAL: Keating’s office offered a deal to Leo Landry, a priest who admitted to sexually abusing two boys.

THE RESULT: Keating cut a deal for Landry to serve probation with No Jail Time.

“The sentencing in Norfolk County Superior Court helped close a chapter in the lives of the two former seminarians who were abused on the grounds of Elm Bank seminary in Wellesley, a nearly idyllic spot for study and spiritual growth that became what one victim called a ‘hunter’s lodge’ where Landry was ‘among the lead predators.’… Landry, 74, was charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14 and two counts of indecent assault and battery on children over the age of 14. He left the Stigmatines, a small Catholic order, in 1972. There was no trial, because the sentence was the result of a plea bargain…‘I was 13, away from home for the first time, and very naive,’ said Vellante, a former Globe employee. ‘You, Mr. Landry, were my spiritual counselor and took full advantage of that position of power.’ (Matt Carroll, “Ex-Priest Pleads Guilty to Abuse,” Boston Globe, 8/5/04)

“A former Boston-area priest pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexually abusing two boys in the late 1950s. Leo Landry, who belonged to the Stigmatine order, was sentenced to lifetime probation after a joint recommendation was made by prosecutors and Landry’s defense attorney… [Keating spokesman David] Traub said Landry planned to return to Colorado, where he was to be monitored by probation officials.” (“Priest Pleads Guilty in 45-Year-Old Sexcual Abuse Cases,” Associated Press, 8/4/04)

“John Vellante was a 13-year-old boy being groomed for the priesthood when a Catholic priest at a high school seminary in Wellesley molested him in the 1950s. Former priest Leo P. Landry, 74, admitted yesterday in Norfolk Superior Court that he sexually abused Vellante and another teenage boy at the Stigmatine Fathers Junior Seminary 45 years ago. ‘Coming to grips with what happened back in 1958 and 1959 has not been easy,’ Vellante, 60, told Landry during a victim-impact statement. ‘It took more than 40 years for me to release what had been locked up so tightly within me, and when it finally was released, I, as well as my family, paid a steep price,’ he said. ‘We went through our own private hell.’… The North Andover man said his parents thought they were sending him to a ‘holy institution’ that would train him to become a priest. ‘Instead, as it turned out, I was sent to a hunter’s lodge and my classmates and I were the captured prey,’ he said… Prosecutor Jeanmarie Carroll read a statement from the other victim, who said Landry’s sexual abuse caused him to begin a lifelong battle with depression, self-mutilation, social phobia, post-traumatic stress and shame. ‘Today, I have zero faith and a visceral avoidance of all things religious,’ the former altar boy, now 59, stated. ‘I look away from churches and avoid entering them at all costs.’” (Dennis Tatz, “Priest Admits Molesting Seminary Pupils; Former Cleric, 74, Avoids Jail Time in Decades-Old Case,” Quincy Patriot Ledger, 8/5/04)

Plea Bargain Bill Routinely Let Rapists, Violent Criminals Off Easy

The Patriot Ledger: “Do A Crime, Serve Less Time In Norfolk”

A report confirms that Keating has a record of going easy on criminals, with only 16 of 235 defendants going to trial in 2000:

“In Norfolk County, 190- or 80 percent- of the 235 defendants whose cases were resolved last year in Superior Court pleaded guilty, while 16 went to trial and nine had their cases dismissed. The office of District Attorney William R. Keating chose not to prosecute the cases of 14 others, and charges against six other defendants were disposed of in some other fashion.” (Gary V. Murray, “Plea Deals Keep Courts Functioning,” 2/25/01)

An investigative report shows that defendants who pleaded guilty to rape under Keating’s jurisdiction repeatedly served more lenient sentences than they would have in a neighboring county:

“Among the findings: Defendants who copped to pleas in Norfolk County to forcible rape and attempted rape were sentenced to less than half the amount of time as those in Plymouth County.” (Karen Eschbacher, “Investigative Report; Bargaining For Justice; Do A Crime, Serve Less Time In Norfolk. DAs Take Different Routes To Justice,” The Patriot Ledger, 6/25/05)

Additionally, the report also shows that defendants who admitted guilt in cases that involved drugs and robbery were less likely to receive incarceration than those who pleaded guilty to similar crimes the same neighboring county:

“Norfolk defendants who admitted guilt in cases that involved drugs and robbery were less likely to receive incarceration than those who pleaded guilty to similar crimes in Plymouth. At least some charges were dropped or reduced in nearly half of Norfolk County robbery cases. Only two robbery cases had charges reduced in Plymouth County.” (Karen Eschbacher, “Investigative Report; Bargaining For Justice; Do A Crime, Serve Less Time In Norfolk. DAs Take Different Routes To Justice,” The Patriot Ledger, 6/25/05)

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