USA: Former Cardinal McCarrick charged with sexual assault

The three counts relate to the sexual assault of a boy, aged 16 at the time of the crime, on the sidelines of a wedding at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, in 1974. The alleged victim’s attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, declined to go into detail if he was frank. His client is cooperating with the attorney general’s office “to give courage to other victims and to make the world a safer place for children.”

Criminal proceedings against the 91-year-old have long been considered unlikely because the state of Massachusetts is out of date. According to the “Boston Globe”, this does not apply to McCarrick because he was living in the parish of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City at the time of the alleged act. The former cardinal, who was expelled from the priesthood by Pope Francis in 2019 after extensive investigations by the Vatican, now lives in Missouri. “We are looking into this and will take a stand in court,” McCarrick’s attorney, Barry Coburn, said.

McCarrick faces indictment on August 26. So far, the influential cleric has managed to evade criminal prosecution. Many of the victims sought civil trials in New York and New Jersey. The former cardinal denies having wronged the palace.

(kna – mg)