New Jersey Clergy Sexual Abuse
With more and more lawsuits being filed against New Jersey religious institutions for clergy sexual abuse, it’s important for survivors of abuse to understand the legal rights and options they have for holding abusive institutions accountable. Whether you are seeking to file a lawsuit, report your abuse to law enforcement, or explore your legal rights, Helping Survivors is here to provide comprehensive information on your rights and resources so you can move forward in full confidence.
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Author: Kathryn Kosmides
- New Jersey religious institutions have faced hundreds of accusations of sexual abuse in recent years, with allegations of abuse dating as far back as the 1950s.
- Currently, the New Jersey Attorney General is investigating allegations against the state’s five Catholic dioceses, and the dioceses have produced a list of nearly 200 clergy members with credible accusations of sexual abuse against them.
- If you or a loved one experienced childhood sexual abuse by a clergy member, Helping Survivors can help you understand your rights and connect you with legal resources.
Overview of Clergy Sexual Abuse Allegations
Across New Jersey’s five Catholic dioceses in Camden, Newark, Paterson, Metuchen, and Trenton, nearly 200 priests and deacons have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children, mostly in the mid-20th century.
The systemic issue of clergy abuse also spreads across different religious institutions, and in 2019, the USA Northeast Province Jesuits also named 50 Jesuit leaders credibly accused of abuse, including 10 in New Jersey.
Widespread probes into Catholic priest abuse began nationwide in 2018 after a Pennsylvania grand jury found that hundreds of priests had sexually abused over 1,000 children over 70 years. In New Jersey, this finding prompted the Attorney General to investigate allegations of sexual abuse in the state’s own Catholic dioceses. Soon after, the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered church records to be unsealed, clearing the path for prosecutors to potentially bring a case to a grand jury.
Many of the hundreds of lawsuits filed against various dioceses and individual clergy members in New Jersey accuse church leadership structures of covering up or ignoring allegations of abuse.
New Jersey Catholic Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse
A database of New Jersey lawsuits against the Catholic Church includes 800 accusations of abuse against various Diocese officials, many of whom appear on the list multiple times. These abuse allegations span from the early 1940s to as recently as 2018. One former Bishop of Metuchen and Archbishop of Newark, Theodore McCarrick, has been accused at least ten times and was briefly charged with assault and battery; however, the case was dismissed due to McCarrick’s age and level of competency.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s call for a probe years ago has only resulted in one criminal conviction and three indictments so far, including Thomas Ganley, Brendan Williams, and Donato Cabardo.
However, in 2022, the Diocese of Camden, which encompasses six counties in southern New Jersey, agreed to pay an $87.5 million settlement for clergy sex abuse claims from 300 alleged victims in one of the nation’s largest cash settlements involving the church. In those suits, the alleged abuse occurred from the 1950s to the 1990s, though most took place in the 1960s and 1970s.
New Jersey Catholic Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse
Under New Jersey law, survivors of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church now have increased time to file lawsuits for childhood sexual abuse after the state significantly lengthened the statute of limitations in 2019.
If you were sexually abused by a Church official as a child and you are under age 55, you have the right to file a civil lawsuit for damages. The state also has resources for survivors of childhood sexual abuse by priests, including the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which provides support and legal information to New Jersey victims.
File a New Jersey Clergy Abuse Lawsuit for Sexual Abuse
In 2019, New Jersey expanded its civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse to allow victims of abuse by priests to seek legal compensation. The legislation lets child victims file civil lawsuits for abuse until they turn 55 or within seven years of their first realization that the abuse caused them harm. The previous statute of limitations only allowed survivors to sue until age 20 or two years after that realization.
New Jersey also briefly opened a lookback window for past sexual abuse cases from any time, allowing victims of any age to file suits between December 2019 and November 2021. During that window, more than 800 lawsuits were filed against the church, naming 250 Catholic clerics. More than half of these suits involved the Newark diocese.
If you believe you experienced sexual abuse at the hands of a New Jersey clergy member when you were a child, and you are not yet 55 years old, you may have a valid case against the church. The legal process for sexual abuse claims begins with a consultation with an experienced attorney, who can then work to gather evidence, identify liable parties, and file a complaint.
File a Police Report for Clergy Sexual Abuse
An important step in beginning the legal process of suing the church in New Jersey is filing a police report.. Filing a police report can serve as important evidence even in civil lawsuits, and police investigations can also uncover critical evidence to be used in civil and criminal cases.
You can report clergy sexual abuse to your local law enforcement agency in New Jersey, and you may be contacted with follow-up questions later on. New Jersey’s Office of the Attorney General also has a task force dedicated to clergy abuse reporting. If the police find significant evidence, the statute of limitations is not over, and the perpetrator is still living, they may press criminal charges.
Report Clergy Sexual Abuse to Individual New Jersey Dioceses & Religious Institutions
Before reporting clergy sexual abuse to individual New Jersey dioceses or another religious institution, it’s important to contact a lawyer to ensure your legal rights are protected. Each religious organization has its own procedures for reporting abuse, and some of the church-run reporting programs have limitations–it is not uncommon for churches to attempt to bury abuse accusations.
Recently discovered court documents indicate that New Jersey’s Camden diocese successfully quashed a key part of the investigation into clergy abuse at a secret hearing in 2023, despite feigning cooperation with investigations in the media. The documents show that Camden challenged the state’s authority to appoint a special grand jury to lead the inquiry into individual clergy perpetrators and a broader coverup by the church. Because of actions like Camden’s, there have been few signs of progress in the Attorney General’s probe since its announcement years ago, despite hundreds of reports from alleged victims.
Speak to a Lawyer About Filing a Clergy Abuse Claim in New Jersey
If you or a loved one experienced sexual abuse by a clergy member in New Jersey–even if it was years or decades ago–you have legal rights and options. By working with an experienced institutional sexual abuse attorney, you can better understand your rights and resources, stay informed on the process of your case, and work toward healing while your lawyer works toward justice.
Every survivor’s experience is unique, and what they choose to do afterward is ultimately their choice Helping Survivors can connect you with an experienced attorney today for a free consultation. We focus on connecting survivors to law firms that can file civil lawsuits against individuals and institutions to compensate victims for the abuse they suffered. Contact us to get help today.
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