In recent years, numerous victims have come forward with sexual abuse claims of minors by priests in the Diocese of Metuchen. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen includes ministries in Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren counties. After New Jersey’s attorney general announced it was investigating sexual abuse by Catholic priests, all five of New Jersey’s dioceses released the names of priests that the Church determined had been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse. At least ten of the 188 priests on the list worked in the Diocese of Metuchen.
Like the other four dioceses in New Jersey, the Diocese of Metuchen faces many lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by priests. One case that received widespread notoriety involved Theodore McCarrick, who served as a cardinal and first bishop of the Diocese. McCarrick served as bishop of Metuchen in 1981 and accepted an appointment as a cardinal in 2001. However, after numerous victims came forward with accusations of decades of sexual abuse by McCarrick, the Church removed him from public ministry in 2018.
The Diocese’s website includes reports about the abuse by McCarrick. The reports contain multiple letters documenting the horrific sexual acts McCarrick perpetrated against teenage boys and young priests in the Church. One letter in the report states two priests noted that although the incidents of sexual abuse by McCarrick were “well known” throughout the Diocese, the Catholic Church “took no restrictive or punitive action” against McCarrick. Another priest said that when he reported the abuse to the Diocese’s priest, who served as a psychological counselor, the priest told him he should not tell anyone about the abuse if he wanted to be ordained.
In September 2020, referencing priest sexual abuse in the Diocese of Metuchen, victims filed two separate lawsuits against the Catholic Church. They were able to file these lawsuits under the recently passed New Jersey Child Sexual Abuse Act and the New Jersey Victims’ Rights Bill. Recent changes to New Jersey legislation extend the statute of limitations or time restrictions to initiate a civil lawsuit for childhood sexual abuse from a victim’s 28th birthday to age 55 or seven years after discovering physical or mental injury stemming from the abuse. Additionally, a revival window added to the law enables child sexual abuse survivors of all ages to file a civil lawsuit within two years from December 2019.
The lawsuits filed under this new legislation alleged abuse by Brother Regis Moccia and the Reverend Patrick H. Barrett. The first lawsuit alleges that Moccia sexually abused the victim from around 1994 to 1995, while the victim, aged 13 to 14 at the time, was a student at the St. Joseph High School in Metuchen. St. Joseph High School is a Catholic school within the Diocese of Metuchen.
In the second lawsuit, a former parishioner of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Woodbridge accused Barrett of sexually abusing him from around 1983 to 1984. The victim was nine or ten years old. Both priests are now dead.
In the lawsuit related to abuse by Moccia, the plaintiff alleges that the Diocese of Metuchen either knew or should have known that Moccia “was a danger to children” and that the institution was, thereby, liable for the abuse. The lawsuit also alleged that the Diocese and the other named defendants should have known that child sexual abusers have a high recidivism rate, and therefore, the Church should’ve removed the priests from contacting children.
The religious institution’s website claims that only 3% of clergy in the Diocese have faced credible accusations of sexual abuse. The Diocese lists the following individuals as “credibly accused” clergy members: John Banko, John Casey, Michael Cashman, Mark Dolak, Thomas Ganley, John Giordano, Anthony Kramarz, Gregory Littleton, Michael Santillo, and Dann Rossi.
Additionally, Patrick Kuffner is currently under investigation by civil authorities. The Diocese posted a statement on its website advising parishioners to notify law enforcement first if they suspect abuse. In addition, the Diocese gives the following numbers to call to report child sexual abuse: 1-877-652-2873 (New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency) or contact the Diocese’s Director of Child and Youth Protection at (908)-930-4558.
If you or someone you love experienced sex abuse as a child or teen at the Diocese of Metuchen, contact the compassionate and determined lawyers at Herman Law today for a free consultation. You deserve justice for the harm you endured.
- Fr. John M. Banko
- Fr. Patrick H. Barrett
- Fr. John J. Casey
- Fr. Michael J. Cashman
- Fr. Raymond L. Cole
- Fr. Mark J. Dolak
- Fr. Kevin P. Duggan
- Fr. George A. Farrell
- Fr. Thomas P. Ganley
- Fr. John C. Giordano
- Fr. John Huels
- Fr. Anthony Kramarz
- Fr. Patrick J. Kuffner
- Fr. Gregory J. Littleton
- Br. Regis Moccia
- Deacon Dann Rossi
- Fr. Eladio Sanchez
- Fr. Michael P. Santillo
- Br. John B. Spalding
- Fr. Tomasz Adam Zielinski