UPDATE:  On December 1, 2019, the New Jersey Sexual Abuse Survivor Law went into effect. This law opens up a two-year window for sexual abuse survivors to file lawsuits, regardless of when the abuse took place. Read more here!

While it is difficult to estimate the exact number of New Jersey priests who might end up behind bars due to accusations of sexual assault in the Catholic Church, charges continue to mount as victims come forward to share their stories.

Have Any Priests Been Convicted?

In one report, a former Catholic priest is facing a four-year prison term after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a teen girl in the early 1990s.

In February, a list of 188 New Jersey priests and deacons accused of sexually abusing children over the course of several decades was published. The list of names was released following both an internal review as well as law enforcement investigations.

Who Will Go to Jail?

Since many of the alleged events occurred decades ago, the statute of limitations had long expired. Until recently, New Jersey’s statute of limitations on the sexual abuse of a minor limited how much time could pass between the time a crime was committed and when civil charges could be filed. Under the old law, a sex abuse survivor had only two years to file a lawsuit against his or her abuser, giving a child victim  only until his or her 2oth birthday to do so. 

In May 2019, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill allowing child victims to file lawsuits against their abusers until age 55, or within seven years of the time that repressed memories of such events resurface. Victims previously time-barred under the old statute of limitations now have a two-year window to bring legal action.

Unfortunately, more than half of those currently on the list of New Jersey pedophile priests is dead. It has been reported that just 75 are still living, and some are in retirement homes. It’s not known how the church is monitoring the remaining priests.

Is the Church Covering Up Abuse?

According to WHYY radio, some believe that the church is attempting damage control despite cooperating with numerous investigations of child sex abuse by priests.

Some child advocates argue that the church is incapable of policing itself and that the disclosure of the list of nearly 200 names might not paint the total picture of the depths of child sex abuse within the New Jersey clergy.

The disclosures came about during an ongoing state grand jury investigation conducted to identify whether or not there were church-wide efforts to cover up the abuse. It’s unlikely that many of them will be prosecuted. Law enforcement officials have shared that clergy abuse cases are among the most difficult to carry through the criminal justice system for numerous reasons.

Many church abuse victims say they were concerned about reporting abuse because they did not believe there would be appropriate consequences. The lack of corroborating evidence and witnesses can complicate the possibility of criminal convictions even further, according to nj.com. In many cases, when victims came forward decades ago, church officials did not report the complaints to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.

Why Has the Vatican Not Taken Action?

The problem of sexual abuse extends beyond New Jersey priests. Cases have been reported all over the world, and the issue has even reached the Pope’s inner circle. In the fall of 2018, Pope Francis dismissed two of his close advisers over connections with abuse allegations. According to The Guardian, an Australian jury convicted Cardinal George Pell of assaulting two youths in 1996 and 1997.

The Atlantic reported that in May, the Pontiff acknowledged the problem publicly, issuing an edict, known as a motu proprio, requiring dioceses and parishes to report all suspected cases of abuse and to fully cooperate with secular law enforcement. He also mandated that protection be provided to whistleblowers and that support be made available for victims. While Pope Francis’ motu proprio stops short of specifying punishments for offenders, it’s a step forward in addressing the crisis of sexual abuse by clergy.

If you or someone you know was the victim of child sexual abuse by a New Jersey priest, you could have grounds to pursue compensation under the law with the help of a sexual assault lawyer.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.