Diocese of Paterson ACCUSED PRIESTS

Child sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church has recently come to light as a horrifying, systemic problem. For example, in the Diocese of Paterson in New Jersey, victims of child sexual abuse have come forward with sexual abuse claims against at least 29 priests and at least three monks that worked at the prestigious Delbarton School. The school is located in the Diocese but runs independently. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson includes various ministries in Passaic, Morris, and Sussex counties. 

On February 13, 2019, New Jersey’s Catholic dioceses disclosed the names of 188 priests who had credible accusations of child sexual abuse against them since 1940. Of those 188 priests, 29 worked in the Paterson Diocese. All those named are either dead or previously removed from their positions. The dioceses released the list only after New Jersey’s attorney general created a task force to investigate child sexual abuse by priests and the Catholic Church’s decades-long cover-up of the same.  

Like the other four New Jersey dioceses, the Diocese of Paterson is facing enormous financial challenges due to recent lawsuits and settlements against the Church based on claims of sexual abuse that persisted for decades. 

In 2020, a former student of the now-closed Don Bosco Technical School filed a lawsuit, accusing a former priest of sexually abusing the boy on more than 100 separate occasions in the 1970s. According to the lawsuit, former Priest Sean Rooney, who worked as a chemistry teacher at the school, showed the victim pornography and gave him alcohol when the boy was only 13. Rooney was transferred from one school to another throughout his career. In 2008, the Church removed him from the priesthood as punishment for “transgressions.”   

In 2021, a former student at the prestigious Delbarton School, an all-male college prep school, filed a lawsuit against the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, alleging that three monks sexually abused him in the 1970s when he was between 13 and 14 years old. The Delbarton School is in the Diocese of Paterson but operates independently. The monks named in the lawsuit included the Reverend Manus Duffy, Brother Jonathan Michael Hunt, and Reverend Bruno Ugliano. According to the victim, one act of abuse occurred on an overnight trip when Duffy sodomized him, telling him the act was how God wanted Duffy to show the boy God’s love.   

In other recent actions taken against the Diocese of Paterson, in April 2021, childhood abuse survivors filed three lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse against three priests in the Diocese—Thomas Rainforth, Francis Dennehy, and Ralph Sodano. 

The Diocese maintains a list on its website of all priests in the religious institution deemed to have been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse. The list names the following priests: Jose Alonso, Charles Bradley, George Costigan, Absalom Coutinho, William Cramer, Francis Dennehy, John Derricks, Stanislaus Durka, Patrick Erwin, Carlos Guzman, James Hanley, John Heekin, John Hewetson, Jose Lopez, Peter McBride, William Mockus, Joseph Molloy, Marcin Nurek, John Pisarcik, Walter Pruschowitz, James Scott, James A.D. Smith, Ralph Sodano, Allen Stepien, John Sutton, Ronald Tully, John Wall, Gregory White, and William Winston. 

The Diocese notified law enforcement of all sexual abuse allegations. 

Child sexual abuse can have long-term, devastating consequences for victims, including emotional, physical, and mental challenges that often require extensive therapy to assist with continued healing. Childhood sexual abuse survivors shouldn’t have to take on the financial burden that the ongoing recovery process might require. A sexual abuse law firm can help victims receive the compensation they deserve for the abuse they endured. 

New Jersey laws recently changed to allow victims to file child sexual abuse claims in civil court, no matter their present age or when the abuse happened. This revival window lasts for two years, having commenced in December 2019. Additionally, the state extended its statute of limitations or time restriction to bring a civil claim up to age 55 or seven years after discovering injury stemming from the abuse, whichever is later. Previous law set the cutoff to file at the victim’s 28th birthday. Child survivors can initiate civil lawsuits against both the perpetrator and the institutions that allowed the abuse. 

If you or someone you love experienced sex abuse at the Diocese of Paterson, contact Herman Law today for a free consultation.