Three Former Secaucus Priests Accused Of Sexual Abuse

SECAUCUS, NJ — Three former priests who served at the Immaculate Conception Catholic church in Secaucus have been named by the Catholic church as having "credible" sexual assault allegations made against them at one point in time.

All three ICC priests have since died or been removed from the ministry; they are not currently at Immaculate Conception. The priests are: Father John C. Bouton, Father Alan Guglielmo and Father Robert Marotta.

The three Secaucus priests were on this list the Newark archdiocese released Wednesday: The Trenton diocese and Metuchen diocese released similar lists (see below for full lists). In total, 186 New Jersey priests were named, all of whom have "credible" sexual assault allegations made against them in the past seventy years or so.

The archdiocese said it was releasing the list in an effort "to help bring healing and restore trust in the leadership of the Catholic church."

It was the Catholic church itself that released the names. Many of the priests on the list have died or been removed from the ministry by the church.

This Patch reporter called the ICC today, but the church did not give a comment.

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, said the list includes all those from New Jersey who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors dating back to 1940.

"The revelations of clergy sexual abuse of minors throughout this past year have provoked feelings of shock, anger, shame, and deep sorrow throughout our Catholic community," he said. "In an effort to do what is right and just, we are publishing the names of diocesan clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors.

"This list of names is the result of an extensive review of Archdiocesan records dating back to 1940. It is our sincerest hope that this disclosure will help bring healing to those whose lives have been so deeply violated. We also pray that this can serve as an initial step in our efforts to help restore trust in the leadership of the Catholic Church."

Father Bouton is now deceased; he was ordained as a priest in 1949; he is accused of molesting one child, the church said. He also served as the pastor at St. Aloysius in Caldwell, Our Lady of Peace in New Providence and Holy Rosary in Edgewater as well as Immaculate Conception in Secaucus.

Father Guglielmo was ordained in 1968; he is accused of molesting one child and has been permanently removed from the ministry. Like Bouton, Secaucus was just one of many parishes he served in throughout North Jersey.

Father Marotta is accused of molesting one child, the church said. He was ordained in 1963 and is now deceased. He served at: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Jersey City, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Lyndhurst, Our Lady of the Rosary, Newark, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Newark, St. John the Baptist, Jersey City, Our Lady Of Libera, West New York, Immaculate Conception, Secaucus, Our Lady Of Victories, Jersey City and St. Cecilia, Kearny.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said the Catholic Church decided to make the list public after he convened a statewide task force last fall to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic dioceses of New Jersey.

"I am pleased to see that our task force’s grand jury investigation has prompted the dioceses to finally take some measures to hold predator priests accountable," the New Jersey Attorney General said. "While this is a positive first step towards transparency and accountability, I hope this spirit of openness continues during the course of our ongoing investigation and in response to our requests for records and information.

However -

"We know from the hundreds of calls that we have received over our tip line that there are many others who were abused as children and as adults, both by diocesan clergy and clergy members in various religious orders," he continued. "The investigative work of the task force continues so that we may assure that all survivors of clergy abuse are heard and all abusers and institutions are held accountable for their acts."

Tobin had announced that the Roman Catholic Dioceses in New Jersey were undertaking a complete review of their files so that the names of all priests and deacons who have been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of minors could be made public.

The dioceses are undertaking this action in coordination with the Attorney General of New Jersey's ongoing task force examining the issue of clergy sexual abuse.

In the same statement, the Archdiocese of Newark and the Dioceses of Camden, Trenton, Paterson and Metuchen said they are committed to the establishment of a "Victim Compensation and Counseling Program."

This program will provide the resources to compensate those victims of child sexual abuse by clergy and employees of the Dioceses in New Jersey whose financial claims are legally barred by New Jersey's statute of limitations, according to the statement.

Tobin said the program also will assure that victims who have not received any financial compensation will be paid, regardless of whether their claims meet the time requirements of the statute of limitations.

The list of priests released by the Trenton archdiocese: https://dioceseoftrenton.org/d...
The list of names released by the Newark archdiocese: https://healing.rcan.org/uploa...
The list of names released by the Metuchen archdiocese: https://diometuchen.org/clergy...

Photo of Immaculate Conception Church in Secaucus taken by Carly Baldwin/Patch