Here Are 2 Scotch Plains Priests On The 'Credibly Accused' List

SCOTCH PLAINS, 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 two accused abusers with ties to Scotch Plains.

Both have either passed away or 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 two priests on the ProPublic list with Scotch Plains ties:

Kevin Gugliotta

Gugliotta, who was born in 1962 and ordained in 1996, served at a number of parishes including locally at St. Bartholomew in Scotch Plains. He also served at Holy Spirit in Union, Immaculate Conception in Mahwah, Ramapo College in Mahwah, St. Joseph in West Orange, St. Elizabeth in Wyckoff, and St. Rose of Lima in Short Hills.

Gugliotta was sentenced to one to two years in a Pennsylvania jail in 2017 for disseminating child pornography, something he reportedly did to get revenge on God because he lost money playing poker. He has since been permanently removed from the ministry.

Kevin Kortina

Kortina, who was born in 1944 and ordained in 1970, served at a number of parishes including locally at Union Catholic Regional High School in Scotch Plains. He also served at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, Our Lady of Lourdes in West Orange, Chaplain - DeLaSalle HS in Concord, CA, and St. Francis DeSales Church in San Bernadino, CA.

Kortina has been accused of abusing one victim and has since died. It is unclear at which church the alleged child sex abuse occurred.

ProPublica's project was spurred by a 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report, which named hundreds of priests as part of a statewide clergy abuse investigation.

Nationwide, the names of more than 5,800 clergy members have been released so far, representing the most comprehensive step toward transparency yet by a Catholic Church dogged by its long history of denying and burying abuse by priests.

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