Abuse claims mount against ex-area priest

North Branford, Connecticut--

Two more men have come forward alleging sexual abuse by the Rev. Daniel McSheffery, including the first accusation that McSheffrey engaged in misconduct while he was pastor of St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church in North Branford.

The priest, who is in his mid-70s, lives in Florida. McSheffery served in North Branford for 16 years until the first allegations surfaced in 2002.

Since 2002, six other men have accused McSheffery of sexual abuse. Five civil suits stem from McSheffery’s time at St. Augustine. The sixth comes from McSheffery’s stint at St. George in Guilford.

One of the latest lawsuits, filed in New Haven, comes from a man known as "John Doe," an altar boy at St. Augustine in North Branford at the time of the alleged 1988 incident.

Doe’s complaint lists multiple counts against McSheffery, the Hartford Archdiocese and St. Augustine Church: reckless battery, negligent battery, reckless infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment and breach of fiduciary duty.

The complaint alleges that McSheffery sexually assaulted Doe, then 15, in the North Branford rectory. Doe said he was made to perform sexual acts, given an alcoholic beverage and told that no one would believe him if he reported the incident.

Read te article at New Haven Register Dated May 16, 2005

Search the web for this article