Framingham Priest Indicted On Child Rape Charges: Middlesex DA

FRAMINGHAM, MA — A Framingham priest at the top of St. Bridget's Parish has been indicted on charges in connection to an alleged sexual assault, the Middlesex District Attorney announced on Tuesday.

Francis Strahan, 89, was indicted yesterday by a Middlesex Grand Jury on one count of rape of a child by force and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

The charges stem from an alleged sexual assault of a male student at Saint Bridget’s School on two occasions when the victim was between the ages of eleven and thirteen.

From 2004- 2008, while the defendant was the Pastor of Saint Bridget’s Parish in Framingham, the alleged victim was an altar server, the Middlesex District Attorney said. On one occasion when the victim was dropped off for altar service and was alone in the church, Strahan allegedly raped and sexually assaulted him.

On another occasion, Strahan allegedly assaulted the victim again by pressing his body against the victim who was again at Saint Bridget’s for altar serving.

An arraignment has not yet been scheduled.

The Archdiocese of Boston has identified nine priests with ties to Framingham who were accused of abuse dating back to the 1940s. Only one, the Rev. Thomas F. Dempsey, was ever convicted of child sexual abuse. He was a vicar at St. Stephen Parish in Framingham in 1985 and 1986. He was jailed in Wisconsin in 1997, but died in 1998.

In 2019, Strahan, who was the monsignor of St. Bridget's Parish, was placed on administrative leave.

Read more: Framingham Priest Suspended After Sex Abuse Allegation