New Hampshire: priest Gordon MacRae convicted of sexual assault; conviction upheld through direct appeal and federal habeas review

Proceedings

1. 1994-09-23 · mixed guilty pleas and jury verdict; conviction affirmed on direct appeal; federal habeas petition dismissed 2015

   Cheshire County Superior Court, Keene, New Hampshire, USA. On September 23, 1994, Gordon MacRae was convicted on five counts of sexual assault against Thomas Grover, arising from pastoral counseling sessions in 1983 when Grover was 15 — a mix of guilty pleas to some counts and a jury finding of guilt on the remaining count — and was sentenced to 33.5 to 67 years. The New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the conviction on direct appeal. A federal habeas corpus petition, filed after a 2005 announcement of new counsel, was dismissed on the pleadings by a federal district judge on March 17, 2015, without an evidentiary hearing on MacRae's innocence claim. He remained incarcerated as of the most recent parole records located (minimum parole date 2028).

Documented coercion mechanisms

• pastoral counseling sessions used as private access to a minor