Coakley aware of Geoghan abuse allegations in 1995

BOSTON -- Attorney General and US Senate candidate Martha Coakley is taking some heat for not prosecuting a pedophile priest.

New reports show she brokered a deal for the priest seven years before his conviction.

In 2002, Coakley helped put pedophile priest John Geoghan behind bars for fondling a 10-year old boy at a swimming pool.

However, seven years earlier in 1995, Coakley reportedly decided not to prosecute Geoghan on allegations that he inappropriately touched three grade school brothers from Waltham.

Instead of prosecuting, Coakley, who then the head of the Middlesex child abuse unit, gave Geoghan one year of probation in a closed-door proceeding.

No charges were ever filed.

"In 1995, there were disturbing allegations regarding father Geoghan and that is why Martha Coakley fought to keep father Geoghan away from children by entering into an agreement. She did everything she could to protect children in this case," said Alex Zaroulis, Coakley’s spokesperson.

While some agree Coakley may not have won a criminal conviction, taking the case to trial may have served a public benefit.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian represented 145 of Geoghan's victims, including the mother of those boys from Waltham.

Garabedian says Geoghan did go on to molest again in 1996 after he was put on probation.

Geoghan was murdered while behind bars by a fellow inmate in 2003.

(Copyright (c) 2009 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)