Priest Sexually Assaulted Child He Lived With, Prosecutors Say

QUINCY, MA — After the Boston Archdiocese removed a priest from the ministry, the priest appeared in court wearing a blue and white checkered button down shirt as he faced charges of sexually assaulting a girl between the ages of 7 and 8 more than a decade ago.

Rev. Christian Ohazulume, who has a listed address in Dorchester but may also live in Brookline was arraigned in Quincy District Court Tuesday afternoon. He pleaded not guilty to three charges of aggravated indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14 and was ordered held on $5,000 bail.

If he posts that, Ohazulume will not be released until his passport is surrendered. He will also have to submit to GPS monitoring, stay away from the victim and her family, have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 14, and not work or volunteer with kids.

The Archdiocese said someone came forward late last month accusing the priest of sexual abuse of a child dating to 2006. During that time the priest, who had come to the U.S. from Nigeria, was living with a family in Randolph.

A police report indicated that the alleged victim's family also moved to the area from Nigeria in the early 90s and the young girl only moved years later to live with her father, stepmother and brother in Randolph, a year before Ohazulume moved in. The girl's father told her that Ohazulume was his nephew, according to court documents.

The girl later told police that Ohazulume stayed with them while he attended college. Around the house, he babysat the victim, drove her to school, and helped her with her homework.

During the winter months, with no one else home, the girl went to Ohazulume's basement bedroom for help with her homework. She said when she would begin to do her homework, Ohazulume would leave the room to use the bathroom and when he returned he would close the door, instead of keeping it open like he normally did, according to the police report.

The girl told police that Ohazulume inappropriately touched the her private areas and kissed her before she was able to run out of the room. She told police he continued to drive her to school, but she didn't say much to him after that. She also said Ohazulume would bump into her on the stairwell and caress her. During drives from school, he would hold and rub her hand. She said his demeanor toward her changed and she felt like he was treated her like a girlfriend.

The girl returned to Nigeria when she was 11 or 12 years old and moved back to Randolph when she turned 16 to attend college, according to court documents.

The victim's father told police that Ohazulume lived with them until he became a chaplain at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where he's worked since 2010. At some point he moved into to the St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Brookline, where he helped celebrate Mass and heard confessions, according to a release from the Archdiocese of Boston.

The Archdiocese said it notified officers once it became aware of the allegations on Aug. 31. The arrest came following a week-long investigation by Randolph police.

"The Archdiocese has been in contact with his home Diocese of Nnewi, Nigeria, and informed them of the allegation and that his faculties to minister have been withdrawn in the Archdiocese of Boston," it said in a release.

In court, Ohazulume's attorney Bethany Rogers stated that her client denies the allegations and requested that he be released on personal recognizance. Ohazulme did not speak during the arraignment.

Ohazulume is due back in court Nov. 13.

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Photo credit: Dan Libon/Patch Staff