NEW BEDFORD A New Bedford priest accused of sexually abusing a minor has filed a defamation suit against the Bishop of the Diocese of Fall River.
Daniel Lacroix, 61, was placed on administrative leave for alleged misconduct in November 2019. At the time, he was serving as co-pastor at three North End churches St. Joseph-St. Therese, St. Mary, and Our Lady of Fatima Parishes.
A Ministerial Review Board in November 2020 determined the allegations of sexual abuse of a minor were credible and subsequently removed Lacroix permanently from ministry.
On Feb. 29, Lacroix filed the lawsuit seeking relief from the Fall River Diocese Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, who he says substantially and irreparably harmed his reputation.
Attorney Breen will continue to focus her practice in the areas of family law and bankruptcy. NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Donovan O Connor & Dodig, LLP announced the addition of three new attorneys: Jennifer M. Breen; Kyle G. Christensen; and Mark Leonhard. She earned a B.A. in Political Science and B.S. Psychology from Utica College in 2001 and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston in 2004. After her admission to the Massachusetts Bar in 2004, Attorney Breen joined the Middlesex County District Attorney s Office in Cambridge. In 2007, she decided to return to her hometown of North Adams opening Breen Law Office & Mediation, where she focused on family law and bankruptcy. Attorney Breen served as a City Councilor in North Adams from 2011- 2015 and continues to volunteer for various organizations and task forces, including the Berkshire County Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force and the Pro Bono for the Child Program.
Fall River Man, 18, Killed in Dartmouth Crash
DARTMOUTH Authorities are investigating a fatal crash on Route 6 in Dartmouth Friday night that claimed the life of an 18-year-old man from Fall River.
Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said that according to preliminary crash reconstruction, a 2003 Lexus ES300 was traveling west on State Road (Route 6) at about 9:45 p.m. on Friday, January 29. As the vehicle approached Route 177, the driver failed to negotiate a curve, went off the road, and struck a utility pole.
A rear-seat passenger, an 18-year-old male from Fall River, was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, where he was pronounced deceased. His name has not yet been released; it is expected that the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office will release his name once next of kin have been notified.
The suspect in her kidnapping was shot in Crestview in November.
She was last seen Oct. 20 entering a car rented from a Boston airport by Luis Zaragoza, 37, who police say kidnapped her and later killed her, according to the Bristol County District Attorney s Office.
Zaragoza was shot and killed by law enforcement on Nov. 5 at a Crestview McDonald s after officials said he fired at Okaloosa County Sheriff s Office deputies and U.S. Marshals Service agents in an arrest attempt on kidnapping charges related to Finklea s disappearance, according to a news release.
The autopsy performed at the District 19 Medical Examiner s Office in Fort Pierce showed Finklea was shot twice in the head, according to the medical official s report.
NEW BEDFORD An investigative report from the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and Daniel Lacroix’s attorney have shed some light on sexual misconduct allegations against an area priest who was permanently removed from the ministry in November.
In a letter that was read during a Mass at Lacroix’s former parish, St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Illinois Street, Diocese of Fall River Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha said allegations against Lacroix were determined to be credible by a ministerial review board.
In a statement Thursday, the diocese said Lacroix was removed because of conduct that is inconsistent with standards of ministerial behavior and in direct violation of the Code of Conduct for priests in the Fall River Diocese and the U.S. Bishops Charter for The Protection of Children and Young People.