A defrocked U.S. Roman Catholic priest who was one of the first to be convicted when the church’s worldwide sex abuse scandal was first exposed more than a decade ago arrived at his new home in western Massachusetts on Friday, following his release from prison.

Paul Shanley, now age 86, was convicted in 2005 of repeatedly raping a boy over a period of years in the 1980s and was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

The scandal undermined the church’s moral authority and sapped its finances as it paid out billions of dollars in settlements.

Shanley was seen arriving at his new apartment in Ware about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west of Boston, where he is registered as a level three sex offender — the type considered most likely to re-offend — according to local media citing the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board.