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Ex-priest pleads not guilty to sex abuse charges

HAVERHILL, Massachussetts (CNN) -- A former Roman Catholic associate pastor, accused of sexually abusing a teen-age boy, pleaded not guilty Wednesday at his arraignment in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

Haverhill District Court Judge Kevin Herlihy set a cash bail of $100,000 for ex-priest Ronald Paquin, 59, who has been charged with one count of rape and abuse of a child under 16.

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Paquin now is in the custody of the Essex County sheriff and was being transported to a jail in Middleton.

Essex County Prosecutor William Fallon, who said Paquin is a flight risk, asked for $1 million cash bail, and Paquin's attorney Kevin Reddington requested that a $10,000 cash bond be set.

According to the complaint against Paquin, numerous abuse incidents were alleged to have happened in Haverhill, where Paquin was an associate pastor, between January 1990 and January 30, 1992, Essex County District Attorney Kevin Burke has said.

The complaint also alleges that there were incidents between Paquin and his accuser in other states and outside the United States, including Canada. The alleged victim is now in his 20s, Fallon said.

Burke had said that his office began its probe of Paquin in March.

Police arrested Paquin peacefully at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at his home in the Boston suburb of Malden. Fallon said there was evidence that Paquin was preparing to leave his residence.

Paquin was not assigned to a particular parish when the alleged abuse took place, Burke said. At one time, he was the associate pastor at St. John the Baptist Church in Haverhill.

Last month, a wrongful-death lawsuit was filed against the Archdiocese of Boston by Harold and Sheila Francis, the parents of a teen-ager killed in a 1981 car accident in New Hampshire in which Paquin was the driver.

The family alleges Paquin fell asleep at the wheel after a field trip during which he provided alcohol to their teen-age son, Francis, and other youths, and had sex with them.

The parents claim the accident could have been prevented if church officials had removed Paquin immediately after they began receiving accusations of molestations by Paquin. Paquin has refused comment on the lawsuit.