Defrocked pedophile priest John J. Geoghan was found strangled and beaten to death on Saturday by a fellow inmate at the maximum security Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center located about 30 miles northwest of Boston.
Murdered defrocked pedophile priest John J. Geoghan (top) who had allegedly molested nearly 150 boys over three decades; fellow inmate Joseph L. Druce (bottom).
Geoghan was serving a nine to 10-year sentence for assault and battery on a 10-year-old boy since April at the facility. He allegedly molested nearly 150 boys over three decades and became a symbol of the clergy sex abuse scandal that cracked the foundations of the Catholic Church worldwide.
Despite being in protective custody, Druce followed the 68-year-old into his cell after lunch and strangled him.
According to reports quoting Conte, Druce who is serving a life term for killing a gay man 15 years ago, entered Geoghan's cell undetected and tied Geoghan's hands behind his back with a T-shirt, then used the stretched-out socks, a pillow case and one of Geoghan's shoes to strangle him.
He then repeatedly jumped from the bed onto Geoghan and beat him with his fists. Conte added that although Druce did not use a razor he had with him, he might have intended to castrate the former priest.
An autopsy showed that Geoghan died from strangulation and blunt chest trauma and had broken ribs and a punctured lung.
The Department of Correction said that they would carry out a thorough review and re-evaluate all of their policies and procedures after Druce has successfully used a pre-cut book, nail clippers and a tooth brush to jam the door's track to prevent guards from entering.
Druce "has a long-standing phobia, it appears, toward homosexuals of any kind... He is filled with long-standing hate," Conte said as he provided new details into the death of the central figure in the Roman Catholic Church sex scandal.
An independent investigation headed by state police Maj. Mark Delaney will be conducted. Conte has said Druce will be charged with murder once a grand jury is convened in September.
Geoghan was granted early retirement in 1996 and was then praised for an "effective life of ministry, sadly impaired by illness" by Cardinal Bernard Law, who ultimately resigned in December 2002 for his role in the scandal.
Murdered defrocked pedophile priest John J. Geoghan (top) who had allegedly molested nearly 150 boys over three decades; fellow inmate Joseph L. Druce (bottom).
Geoghan was charged with raping and molesting three boys in December 1999 but was only convicted in January 2002 for grabbing the buttocks of a 10-year-old boy in 1991, he received nine to 10 years in prison.
In September 2002, the archdiocese paid off 86 of Geoghan's victims for US$10 million, after pulling out of an earlier settlement of about US$30 million.
Druce, who changed his name in prison from Darrin E. Smiledge, is a reputed member of the neo-Nazi group Aryan Nation. He was convicted in the June 1988 murder of George Rollo, 51, a gay bus driver who had picked Druce up.
According to court documents, Druce who was then hitchhiking attacked the driver after he made a sexual advance. He then stuffed him in the trunk of Rollo's car, drove him to a wooded area and strangled him.
An insanity plea based on a "gay panic" defense failed and Druce was sentenced to life in prison.
While in prison, Druce also pleaded guilty to sending a threatening letter with Jewish-sounding names to lawyers. The letter contained white powder and he indicated that it was contaminated with anthrax. He was sentenced to an additional 37 months in prison.
According to a CBS news report, Boston's state Attorney General Thomas Reilly estimates that more than 1,000 children were abused by priests in the Boston archdiocese in the last 60 years. The Boston Archdiocese has offered US$65 million to settle cases filed by more than 540 alleged victims.