ALFRED – A former Catholic priest from Massachusetts facing 31 charges of gross sexual misconduct is scheduled to be tried next month at York County Superior Court in Alfred.

Ronald Paquin, 76, of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, was indicted last year on 15 counts of gross sexual misconduct, a Class A felony and 16 counts of gross sexual misconduct, aClass B felony.

The alleged criminal acts took place in the late 1980s at seasonal locations in Kennebunkport, said Kennebunkport Police Chief Craig Sanford in a February 2017 press release.

The alleged victims were 11 and 14 when Paquin began his alleged inappropriate criminal conduct, said Sanford.

Jury selection for Paquin’s trial is scheduled for Nov. 20. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 26 at 8:30 a.m.

Paquin is currently at York County Jail.

Class A crimes are punishable by up to 30 years incarceration and a $50,000 fine. Class B crimes are punishable by up to 10 years incarceration and a $20,000 fine.

Paquin was removed from the priesthood in 2002. According to the Portland Press Herald, he was a key figure in the Massachusetts priest sex abuse scandal in the early 2000s and pleaded guilty in 2002 to repeatedly raping a Haverhill, Massachusetts, altar boy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, beginning when the boy was 12. Paquin served time in a Massachusetts jail until 2015, when it was determined by specialists that he ho longer met the criteria to be considered sexually dangerous, according to the Portland Press Herald.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 780-9015 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.