Here Are The 4 Freehold Priests On The 'Credibly Accused' List

FREEHOLD, NJ — The journalism site ProPublica, a Patch Partner, recently released the most comprehensive list so far of Catholic clergy "credibly accused" of sexual abuse. The list includes four accused abusers with ties to the Freehold area.

Two have died, and the other two have been permanently restricted from the priesthood due to the allegations.

The searchable database — which includes nearly 200 priests accused from the dioceses of Metuchen, Newark, Trenton, Camden and Paterson — comes on the heels of various reports identifying hundreds of "predator" priests across the state.

Related: Full List Released Of NJ Catholic Clergy Accused Of Sex Assault

Here are the priests on the ProPublic list with Freehold ties:

Richard R. Milewski

Milewski, who is in his mid-50s, was ordained in 1983. The Diocese of Trenton reported he had multiple victims and was removed from the ministry. He was assigned to six parishes, including St. Veronica in Howell, and his last stop was St. Rose of Lima in Freehold.

Douglas U. Hermansen

Hermansen, who is in his late 60s, was ordained in 1979 and had one victim, according to the diocese. He was removed from the ministry. He served at multiple parishes, including St. Rose of Lima in Freehold, and also was the chaplain at St. John Vianney High School in Holmdel. His last role was as chaplain at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.

Liam A. Minogue

Status: Minogue, who has died, was ordained in 1968. He had one victim, according to the diocese, and multiple assignments, including at St. Veronica and at St. Rose of Lima in Freehold. He also served as chaplain for the Monmouth County Boy Scouts early in his priesthood.

Francis J. C. Janos

Janos, who has died, was ordained in 1946. He had multiple victims, according to the diocese, and multiple assignments, including St. Rose of Lima parish.

Related: Trenton Diocese Lists Parishes For Priests Accused Of Sex Abuse

Along with the list, ProPublica outlined the challenges of identifying offenders long after such widespread abuse became known. The database is a collection of 178 lists released by U.S. dioceses and religious orders as of Jan. 20. There are still more than 40 dioceses and religious orders that have not released information, including five out of seven Florida dioceses.

New Jersey enacted a law last month that extends the statute of limitations in civil actions on sexual abuse claims, creating a two-year window to file cases for which the statute of limitations had previously expired. A number of law firms have announced they were filing lawsuits. Attorneys from Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo, LLP and Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC (PCVA) said they planned to file 38 lawsuits on behalf of dozens of abuse survivors.

The ProPublica project was prompted by a massive grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania that was described by Associated Press as the "biggest and most exhaustive ever" into priest sex abuse by an individual state. The investigation revealed many priests admitted to their actions and were allowed to continue in the ministry for years despite having confessed to molesting children.

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