Former Priest, Parish Volunteer, Baseball Coach Pleads 'Not Guilty' to Sexual Assault Accusations

BOSTON, MA — A former Roman Catholic priest pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning to two counts of rape of a child and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, assaults he allegedly committed while volunteering as a baseball coach and as an "altar boy coordinator" at a Dorchester parish, decades earlier.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, Michael Walsh later went on to become a priest, but was "relieved of those duties" in 2002.

Although the allegations date to the 1980s and early 1990s, legislation passed in 2006 eliminated the statute of limitations in child sexual abuse cases, replacing it with a requirement that, in such cases brought more than 27 years after the abuse, prosecutors come forward with “objective, corroborative evidence” of the abuse.

The allegations involve a boy who was in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades at the time, according to the DA's office. He knew Walsh through St. Brendan’s Church and the Cedar Grove Baseball League.

According to prosecutors, the victim, who is now in his late 30s, came forward to law enforcement earlier this year.

"Walsh allegedly used his position of authority 'to gain access to, groom, and ultimately sexually assault' him," according to the DA's office.

The coach and altar boy coordinator was said to have taken the victim and other children out to eat and to the movies, and would drive them home; Walsh allegedly abused the victim in his car, his home, and his office, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors told The Boston Globe that Walsh, now 79, volunteered as the altar boy coordinator for St. Brendan’s Church in Dorchester from 1988 to 1991, where the acts allegedly took place, and later served in the same role at Saint Francis de Sales Church in Charlestown in the mid to late 1950s.

Prosecutors told the court Walsh was ordained as a priest in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2002, but that his ministry was revoked after allegations of abuse that had taken place while Walsh served at St. Francis de Sales, during his time in Charlestown. Those allegations are not related to the current Suffolk County indictments and took place prior to the conduct charged in the pending case, the DA's office said.

Walsh now lives in Pembroke.

He was ordered Wednesday to wear a GPS monitor, remain in the state and surrender his passport as the case continues. He is scheduled to return to court Nov. 14.

Image of St. Brendan's Parish via Google Maps

This article has been edited to reflect updated information from the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.