A former Boston altar boy coordinator was arraigned Wednesday on charges that he raped children he supervised.
Michael Walsh, now 79, was a coordinator at St. Brendan's Parish in Dorchester.
The charges against Walsh stem from alleged incidents in the 1980s and early 1990s when he supervised altar boys.
He later became a priest, but was dismissed in 2002.
One of the victims came forward over the summer. Walsh is accused of using his standing in the church, as well as his position as a Cedar Grove Baseball coach, to abuse the boy between 1988 and 1991.
The victim was in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades during this time. According to court documents, the alleged abuse progressed from groping and touching "to the defendant repeatedly raping him."
Walsh is charged with two counts of child rape and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.
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According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, child rape charges based on victim testimony fall outside of the statute of limitations if they are not brought within 27 years. However, since Walsh spent years living in Florida and Michigan, the "clock" was stopped and prosecutors were able to move forward with the case.
Walsh has been released with a condition of GPS monitoring.
St. Brendan's Parish refused to comment when necn reached out.
