Jun 27, 2008 7:24 pm US/Eastern
Priest Accused Of Sexual Abuse Commits Suicide
DOVER-FOXCROFT, MAINE (AP) ―
A Roman Catholic priest has been found dead in the rectory of a Maine church, one day after being informed of an investigation into the alleged sexual abuse of a minor nearly 30 years ago.
Police said the Rev. James Robichaud committed suicide.
The diocese of Portland, Maine, says the 56-year-old Robichaud was informed yesterday that he would be suspended pending the investigation.
The abuse was alleged to have occurred around the time Robichaud was ordained in 1979 and assigned to St. Jean-Baptiste Parish in Lowell. He later served as chaplain of Lowell General Hospital and pastor of Notre Dame De Lourdes in Lowell.
The allegation came to the diocese from the Oblates, a religious order of men with whom Robichaud was serving in Massachusetts.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
