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Convicted Pedophile Priest Sent To Work In Cleveland

Man Was Altar Boy At Time Of Molestation

UPDATED: 7:23 am EDT May 3, 2002

A Catholic priest was transferred to Cleveland after serving time in a Michigan jail. The charge was for molesting two young boys.

And once in Cleveland, more allegations surfaced.

NewsChannel5's Ted Henry reported that one of his victims describes how trust was betrayed.

Gary Kedzierski always smiles in pictures.

He smiled when he was a boy, he smiled when he was a teenager and he's still smiling today when he's 39 years old.

But Kedzierski admitted that behind those childhood smiles was a boy in pain, a trusting boy who was molested by his priest, Henry reported.

"When I was 11 or 12, he started doing things to me as far as when he would kiss me goodbye -- he would put his tongue in my mouth, and I was like, 'Something's wrong with this,'" Kedzierski said.

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In 1978, the Rev. Gary Berthiaume (pictured) was sentenced to six months in jail, after he admitted to sexually molesting Gary Kedzierski and his older brother Ken.

"He did things such as making me take showers all the time with him. He would go in the pool and make sure I took a shower after --before, after-- It progressed as far as sleeping with him, I mean, fondling me, stuff like that," Kedzierski said.

Kedzierski was only 12 then, an altar boy at Our Lady of Sorrows church in Farmington, Mich.

"Yeah, that was the rectory where father lived. He invited me over a few times," Kedzierski said.

Until now, Kedzierski had never stepped in front of a camera to talk about his painful past. He never planned to either.

"I don't know, it just brings up a lot of bad memories here," Kedzierski said.

He changed his mind when he learned Berthiaume was still a priest and still facing accusations of molesting boys.

"I thought it was all over with after me," Kedzierski said.

Berthiaume's troubles didn't end with Kedzierski, they didn't start with him either.

Before he admitted to molesting Kedzierski while at the Farmington parish, He was accused of molesting four boys at St. Patrick Church in Wyandotte, Mich., Henry reported.

In the early '70s, Berthiaume caught the attention of police investigating the Michigan child killings.

Three tips were reportedly called into the task force and he was questioned.Ultimately, he was cleared.

After getting out of jail, Berthiaume, now a convicted pedophile, was granted a transfer to the Cleveland Catholic Diocese, where he served as priest and sex education teacher at Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Church and grade school.

"He was a super priest. He would come here on lunches and play football with kids. I thought he was a really nice priest," Kedzierski said.

That same nice priest faced the same ugly accusations. More allegations of child molestations surfaced in Cleveland.

One person sued Father Berthiaume and according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter Jim McCarty, a half-dozen former students claimed he sexually abused them at a hotel pool 10 blocks away from his church.

"He'd encourage them to swim through his legs. He'd threatened to pull off their suits as they swam through his legs, stuff like that," Kedzierski said.

Even with more allegations surfacing in Cleveland, the Catholic Church allowed what it now promises never to allow again.

At least two bishops allowed a convicted pedophile to remain in the priesthood.

In 1987, Father Gary Berthiaume was granted another transfer. This time to the suburbs of Chicago where, for the past 12 years, he's lived at a retreat house and served as chaplain for Good Samaratin Hospital in Downers Grove.

Today Berthiaume is still a priest. But earlier this month, under the recent wave of public pressure, he was relieved of his duties at Good Samaritan Hospital.

Henry reported that Berthiaume is a convicted pedophile priest who spent time in a Michigan jail and was then transferred to the Cleveland Catholic Diocese. He faced multiple accusations in Cleveland and then transferred to the Catholic Diocese in Joliet, Ill.

Imische "I think we're a Church of forgiveness," Bishop Joseph Imesch said.

Imesch runs the Joliet Diocese just outside of Chicago. He accepted Berthiaume to the Diocese in 1987.

Just days before the Vatican Summit in which the Pope said there is no place for criminals in the priesthood, this is how Imesch described Father Berthiaume.

"He's done outstanding work. That's a good word -- outstanding work. The priests in the area commend him highly. The sisters where he lives at the retreat house want him to stay on," Imesch said.

In the 70s Imesch was pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington. It's the same church where Berthiaume served when he admitted molesting boys.

Imesch knew of Berthiaume's past when he welcomed him to Joliet. Today, he's still convinced his parishioners didn't need to know.

"Did you make the Joliet Catholic Diocese aware of his past when he came here?" Henry asked.

"Of course not. How could he possibly minister? He let the administration know, which were the people who had to know. But if everybody knows, they're going to back off and not listen to this man. But if he's supervised in his ministry, I don't know that it's necessary to tell people this is his past. Why not accept him as he is?" Imesch asked.





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