Posted on 09/17/2004 3:26:46 AM PDT by tridentine
ALBANY - A local defrocked priest is now the subject of two criminal investigations, one in Boston and the other downstate.
The Westchester County District Attorney's Office is in the preliminary stages of launching an investigation into former Albany priest Dozia Wilson, who spent nearly 10 years as a counselor at a Dobbs Ferry treatment center for at-risk children.
According to a letter sent from the Westchester DA's office to John Aretakis, an attorney for alleged victims of clergy sex abuse, the Special Prosecutions Division is "anxious" to review any material the attorney might possess related to Wilson.
Wilson landed a job at the St. Christopher Residential Treatment Center in the early 1990s. There, he had daily access to hundreds of children from dysfunctional backgrounds.
A spokesperson from the Westchester DA's office said the office was aware of Wilson, but would not comment on details of the investigation.
This latest investigation comes on the heels of an ongoing inquiry of Wilson by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office in Massachusetts. Wilson spent some time in the 1970s as a priest with the Boston Archdiocese, where allegations of sexual abuse concerning him spread.
Aretakis said he is elated to see both district attorney's offices taking an interest in the allegations against Wilson's, considering that the Albany County District Attorney's Office has largely ignored investigating cases where the statute of limitations has run out.
"The dioceses think this is just about money, but it's not at all because the victims, more than anything, want justice," said Aretakis. "They (victims) don't care if guys like Wilson get arrested for molesting them or other people. ... The thing that will give them the most closure is justice being served."
Wilson, 59, was removed from the priesthood by Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard in 1993, but decades of sexual misconduct allegations swirled around Wilson prior to that.
One year before Hubbard was installed as bishop in 1976, Wilson was allegedly caught having sex with two boys and was removed from the Albany Diocese and was transferred to minister in the Boston Archdiocese.
No charges were filed against Wilson, but then Albany County District Attorney Sol Greenburg ordered the diocese to never allow Wilson to return to an Albany parish.
However, in 1979 Wilson was returned to Albany under Hubbard's watch after more allegations of sexual abuse started surfacing in Boston.
Wilson was sent to St. Ann's Church in Fort Ann, Washington County, where he then began a 4-year friendship with then 14-year-old Joe Woodward, who claimed to have been sexually abused by Wilson.
Woodward blames the Albany Diocese for bringing back "such a terrible monster even after so many complaints were made against him," and is suing both the Albany and Boston dioceses.
The now 38-year-old Fort Edward resident drove to Massachusetts for a 4-hour interview with the Suffolk County DA's Office and said he would make himself available to investigators in Westchester as well, but has yet to be contacted by them.
"For years, it's been discouraging because no one wanted to hear about it, but now we're finally starting to see the things that need to get done happen," said Woodward in a telephone interview. "Wilson was a bad guy, and I think Westchester will probably uncover some incidents there too."
Aretakis is also interested in taking a "criminal neglect" stance against the Albany and Boston dioceses for allowing a "known pedophile with a long history of problems" to work right under their noses at a center for children.
He added that despite being de-frocked in 1993, Wilson remained on the official Catholic Directory as "absent on leave" until 1997.
"The church is not allowed to close its eyes and let a known pedophile work with neglected children with all kinds of problems," said Aretakis.
Albany Diocese officials were called after 3:30 p.m. and could not be reached for comment, but in past interviews they have said it wasn't their place to warn other institutions or keep tabs on movements of potentially problematic ex-priests who were let go.
Wilson, who could not be reached for comment, is believed to still be living in Dobbs Ferry.
However, he left St. Christopher's Treatment Center in 2003 after being found beaten into unconsciousness by a male prostitute he was allegedly familiar with. Wilson never pressed charges against the prostitute, who also stole his money and car.
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