Six men have filed suit against dioceses in New Jersey regarding allegations of clerical sex abuse in the 1970s and 1980s.

The lawsuits were filed only recently thanks to a change in New Jersey law effective Dec. 1. The new law allows survivors of child sexual abuse to pursue litigation against their abusers until the victims turn 55 years old or within seven years of realizing the sexual abuse harmed them. Additionally, any victim who was stopped from pursuing litigation by the previous statute of limitations has a two-year look-back window to pursue a lawsuit for damages, according to the North Jersey Record.

New Jersey was the 11^th state in the nation to pass such a bill extending the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse. The law went into effect on Dec. 1.

The laws have helped people who have been victims in the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal to find closure.

New Allegations of Clerical Sex Abuse

According to the Cherry Hill Courier Post, eight priests or Catholic brothers from the dioceses of Camden and Trenton are named among the six lawsuits filed since the new law became effective.

The Courier Post cites two lawsuits point to two different priests from a Paulsboro parish. One of those priests allegedly moved to a church in Cherry Hill, but the abuse did not cease. Plaintiffs John Collins and Joseph Pierzynski said priests at St. John the Evangelist parish in Paulsboro sexually abused them.

Collins told the Courier Post he was an altar boy when the Rev. Patrick Weaver abused him beginning in 1974 through 1978. Collins said he was 8 to 13 years old during the years of abuse. He claims that the abuse didn’t stop after Weaver transferred to the Church of St. Mary in Cherry Hill because Weaver invited the family to visit him, which allowed the abuse to continue.

Pierzynski’s lawsuit alleges Rev. Norman T. Connelly abused him during 1978 and 1979. Pierzynski said he was 14 and 15 years old back then.

According to the lawsuit, Connelly was identified as a credibly accused child sex abuse perpetrator by the Camden diocese, which ultimately removed him from ministry.

Rev. Joseph McHugh allegedly abused Robert Boyle between the years 1979 and 1984. Boyle’s lawsuit claims he was 11 to 16 years old at the time of the sexual abuse, which occurred when McHugh was at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Maple Shade, one of seven parishes where he worked. The Trenton diocese lists McHugh on its list of clerics who have faced credible accusations of child sexual abuse.

According to another lawsuit outlined by the Courier Post, three priests are accused of committing clerical sex abuse against John Honrychs when he was 12 years old in 1974. Rev. Jay Shannon, Rev. John Kelly and Rev. John Bernard allegedly abused Honrychs at St. John’s in Collingswood and St. Gregory’s in Magnolia and during trips the priests organized as outings for church youth members and altar boys.

Several states recently have moved to increase the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), traumatic childhood memories such as child sexual abuse may be held within the brain, but the person may be unable to recall the memory for a long time.

“Many clinicians who work with trauma victims believe that this dissociation is a person’s way of sheltering himself or herself from the pain of the memory,” says the APA on its website.

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