Paul Shanley
Paul Richard Shanley (January 25, 1931[1] – October 28, 2020) was an American Roman Catholic priest who became the center of a massive sexual abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts. Beginning in 1967, the archdiocese covered up numerous allegations of child sexual assault against Shanley and facilitated his transfers to other states.
Paul Richard Shanley
January 25, 1931
October 28, 2020 (aged 89)
American
Roman Catholic priest
12 to 15 years in prison (served 12)
2004
Shanley was convicted of child rape and removed from the priesthood in 2004. Shanley appealed his conviction in 2007 based on questions about the validity of repressed memories, but his conviction was upheld. Shanley was incarcerated from 2005 until his release from state prison in 2017. He died in 2020.
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Paul Shanley was born on January 25, 1931, in Boston, Massachusetts. His father owned a bowling alley and pool room and his mother worked as a legal secretary. Shanley attended Huntington School for Boys, working in the summer as a camp counselor. Shanley would later claim that he was sexually abused by a priest when he was 12 years old.[2] After graduating from high school in 1950, Shanley entered Boston University. However, after two years, he entered St. John’s Seminary in Boston to study for the priesthood.[3]