Former priest serving sentence on sex charges dies at Maine correctional facility

By Wendy Watkins, Bangor Daily News Staff

CHARLESTON — Ronald Paquin, 83, died Friday afternoon, Sept. 11 at Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston, according to a press release from the Maine Department of Corrections.

Paquin, a Massachusetts priest who was defrocked for child sexual abuse, was portrayed in the movie “Spotlight”.

In 2019, he began serving a 20-year sentence – with all but 16 years suspended, followed by three years of probation – for gross sexual misconduct after sexually abusing an altar boy during trips to Maine in the 1980s.

He had already served more than 10 years in prison in Massachusetts for sexually abusing an altar boy there.

Paquin’s death was attended by medical personnel, according to the press release

The Attorney General’s Office and the Medical Examiner were notified of Paquin’s death, which is consistent with corrections department policy.