Richard Roger Lavigne is a former priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts. Lavigne has been at the center of the priest abuse scandal in the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts with about 40 claims of sexual abuse

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...

 of minors placed against him. The Diocese has paid out large cash settlements to numerous people purported to have been molested by Lavigne.

He was removed from ministry by Bishop John Marshall in 1991. He pleaded guilty to two counts of child sexual abuse on June 26, 1992 and was the only suspect named in the unsolved 1972 murder of 13-year-old Danny Croteau of Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...

. In 1994, DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 tests failed to link Lavigne to the Croteau murder and the Hampden County

Hampden County, Massachusetts

-Demographics:As of the census of 2004, there were 461,228 people, 175,288 households, and 115,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 738 people per square mile . There were 185,876 housing units at an average density of 301 per square mile...

 District Attorney William Bennett

William Bennett

William John "Bill" Bennett is an American conservative pundit, politician, and political theorist. He served as United States Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988. He also held the post of Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under George H. W...

 did not bring any charges against Lavigne in that case. Lavigne was removed from the ranks of the clergy by the Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 on 20 November 2003. Lavigne has registered

Sex offender registration

Sex offender registration is a system in various states designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions , information in the registry is made available to the...

 as a sex offender and currently resides in Chicopee, Massachusetts

Chicopee, Massachusetts

Chicopee is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States of America. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 55,298, making it the second largest city in...

.

Further reading