Two priests accused of sexual assault in New Jersey Catholic Churches now face charges thanks to reports submitted to the state’s Clergy Abuse Task Force Hotline.

The more recent arrest in New Jersey came in mid-September. Rev. Brendan Williams has been charged with second degree sexual assault of a pre-teen girl between 1997 and 1999, while he was a pastor at St. Veronica Catholic Church.

The task force’s first arrest was that of 63-year-old Rev. Thomas Ganley in January, 2019. Ganley, who was a parochial vicar at two New Jersey Catholic churches and a hospital chaplain at the time he was taken into custody, was credibly accused of molesting a minor between 1990 and 1994, when the alleged victim was between 14 and 17 years of age. Ganley confessed to the crime soon after his arrest and was recently sentenced to four years.

Ganley and Williams are named on a list released earlier this year by New Jersey Catholic Churches of 188 priests and deacons who have been credibly accused of sexual crimes involving minor children over a period of several decades.

Ironically, the bishop who ordained Ganley, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, was defrocked last year after allegations surfaced of his own abuse of a teenage altar boy in 1970. He was the first cardinal to have been charged with such a crime. Another former Cardinal, George Pell of Australia, was convicted by a court in Melbourne earlier this year.

Task Force Hotline Flooded with Calls

The task force was assembled by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in September 2018 as part of efforts to hold pedophile priests accountable and obtain justice for survivors. Since the hotline was established, it has received over 540 tips.

These reports as well as recent and ongoing investigations come as New Jersey prepares to open a two year window that will allow survivors of sexual abuse to bring legal action against their abusers, regardless of how long ago the incident(s) occurred.

Other provisions of the law, which takes effect on Dec. 1, extend the statute of limitations for sex abuse claims involving a minor child. Those survivors will be able to sue until the age of 55 or seven years after they realize they have been injured by sexual assault.

New Jersey Catholic Churches Offer Help to Survivors

While law enforcement works to bring molesters and pedophiles to justice, the dioceses of New Jersey have established a program to provide counseling and financial compensation to survivors. The $50 million program was established primarily to compensate and assist those who were abused by clergy or other Church agents, but whose cases were past the statute of limitations.

Not Just a Catholic Problem

The problem of child sex abuse by clergy and other adults who were in a position of trust is not limited to New Jersey Catholic Churches, nor even the Church itself. On Sept. 26, a rabbi heading a yeshiva in Lakewood was sued by one of his former students. The LDS Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Boy Scouts of America also face hundreds of lawsuits from survivors of child sexual abuse.

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