Paramus Catholic Coach Sexually Abused Students, Lawsuit Alleges

PARAMUS, NJ — Two lawsuits filed with the Superior Court of New Jersey allege a once prominent Paramus Catholic High School hockey coach sexually abused two former students, and the school, Archdiocese of Newark, and archbishop knowingly did nothing to stop it.

The lawsuits say Bernard Garris, who died in 2016, molested the men "on numerous occasions" while they were students at Paramus Catholic. However, Garris was protected from punishment by the New Jersey Catholic Conference, Newark Archdiocese and PCHS, the lawsuit alleges.

Garris allegedly abused one student between the years of 1985-1986, and the other between 1986 and 1988 while they were both approximately 14 and 15-years-old. These abuses happened on sanctioned athletic trips, and while on school grounds, according to the lawsuit.

Garris was a successful coach during his time at PCHS, he was named to the Bergen County Coach's Association's Century Victory Club after winning over 100 career games. However, he was fired around 1986 or 1987 for physically abusing students, the lawsuit states.

Noting that point, the suit states that the NJCC, Archdiocese and PCHS "knew or should have known that Garris had sexually inappropriate and/or sexually abusive relationships with many minor children."

Further, the suit alleges that the school had known for years of these abuses and did nothing.

"By 1986 Defendants had for many years concealed important information about credible allegations of abuse by Garris upon PCHS students," the suit reads.

PCHS could not be reached by phone on Friday. The Archdiocese told Northjersey.com and NJ.com that they wouldn't comment on pending litigation.

This lawsuit comes months after New Jersey enacted a law in January which extends the statute of limitations on civil sexual abuse claims, which created a two-year window to file cases for which the statute of limitations had previously expired, according to a Patch report.

ProPublica has published a list of Catholic clergy who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse. Names of 63 clergy members from the Archdiocese of Newark have been released, including two who served at PCHS.