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| New Geoghan report names prison officers |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/29/2004 |
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A new version of the investigative report into the slaying of defrocked priest John J. Geoghan names Sergeant Harold Wilkes as the corrections official who failed to confirm a complaint that Geoghan had been assaulted by an officer. The report, which previously had withheld officers names when released on Feb. 3, also identifies five current and former prison officers who either allegedly assaulted Geoghan, or witnessed the abuse. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety initially had asserted the privacy rights of the officers, but Superior Court Judge Janet L. Sanders ordered the names of the correction officers released following an appeal by The Boston Globe. The report said former officer Jason Harris allegedly punched Geoghan and officer Cosmo Bisazza allegedly defecated in his cell. Officers Brian Chin, Brian Archambault and Edward Silva told investigators they never witnessed an assault on Geoghan. The report also said Wilkes wrongly accepted Harris' claim that he was not working on the day of the alleged assault. Wilkes also "expressed remorse in failing to thoroughly investigate the matter" when interviewed Jan. 16 by a panel of investigators for the Geoghan case. The Geoghan investigation panel blamed "major administrative breakdowns" for the events that led prison officials to transfer Geoghan, 68, from Concord to Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, where he ended up with convicted murderer Joseph L. Druce. Druce is charged with the Aug. 23 killing of Geoghan, a key figure in the clergy sexual abuse crisis, and who was serving a nine- to 10-year sentence for molesting a 10-year-old boy. A report finding that Harris "struck inmate Geoghan in the face in the strip-serach area of the visiting room" at a Concord state prison was referred for possible criminal prosecution, but state Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said on Feb. 13 that the office decided not to pursue the case after reviewing the evidence. Wilkes and Chin declined to comment to the Globe last Wednesday night, citing the state Department of Correction's policy prohibiting employees from speaking to the news media without permission. A spokesman for the Department of Correction declined to say whether any officers had been disciplined, adding that the agency policy is to not discuss personnel matters. |
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