A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday dismissed a criminal case charging former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick with molesting a 16-year-old boy in 1974, saying the 93-year-old was not competent to stand trial after psychological experts found he had dementia.

McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, D.C., who was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019, became the only current or former U.S. Catholic cardinal to ever face child sex abuse charges when prosecutors in Massachusetts first charged him in 2021.

He was charged in April in a separate, ongoing criminal sexual assault case in Wisconsin involving the same alleged victim, who prosecutors said was fondled by McCarrick when he was 18 years old while staying as a guest at a cabin in 1977.

  • Donjuanme@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    And his victims weren’t competent to be abused, it didn’t stop him then, why should we be okay stopping now.

    Let this supposedly senile fuck go through the system, then throw away the key. He was free to enjoy life for 30 years because nobody did anything, how can we throw our hands in the air and say it’s too late now?

    The only reason I might give this a pass is if it’d cost extra resources compared to offing him on his way out of the court room. He abused his position of power and trust, he deserves, nay he earned, the worst punishment we can offer, and it still wouldn’t suffice.

    • cooljacob204@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      There is no justice to be had now. He is a senile old man and probably wouldn’t even know if he was in a jail cell. The time for justice was 30 years ago.

      There is unfortunately no fixing this.

  • SheeEttin@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Meh. At this point, even if he was tried and convicted, he would probably just be released back into assisted living. He’s already mentally gone.