Woodbridge Priest Charged With Sexually Assaulting Teen In '90s

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A priest who worked for years at a well-known Catholic parish in Iselin was arrested Thursday, Jan. 17 and charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl in the 1990s.

Father Thomas P. Ganley, 63, who now lives in Phillipsburg, N.J., was arrested today at his home and charged with multiple criminal counts; the Middlesex County prosecutor says the sexual assault happened when the girl was between the ages of 14 and 17.

Ganley was a priest at Saint Cecelia Church in the Iselin section of Woodbridge when the alleged criminal acts occurred from 1990 through 1994. He is currently assigned to Saint Philip & Saint James Church in Phillipsburg.

The Catholic diocese of Metuchen, of which the Saint Cecelia parish is a part of, said that this news Thursday was the first time they've been made aware of these allegations against Father Ganley.

"The diocese has never received an accusation of sexual abuse nor misconduct in the past regarding Father Ganley," the diocese said in this statement put out immediately after his arrest was announced Thursday. "As is our protocol we are contacting all the parishes and diocesan organizations where he ministered to alert them of the charges."

Ganely was charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault in the first degree, and two counts of sexual assault in the second degree. Ganley is currently being held at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center in North Brunswick pending a detention hearing scheduled for January 18.

The arrest constitutes the first criminal case filed by the New Jersey Clergy Abuse Task Force, which was formed by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in September 2018 to investigate allegations of clergy abuse. The arrest was made by members of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office assigned to the task force.

When Attorney General Grewal formed the Clergy Abuse Task Force in September 2018, he also established a Clergy Abuse Hotline – 855-363-6548 – which is staffed by trained professionals and operated on a 24/7 basis. More than 350 calls have been received through the hotline to date.

Attorney General Grewal formed the New Jersey Clergy Abuse Task Force in response to publication of a report by a Pennsylvania grand jury outlining allegations of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests against more than 1,000 victims in that state, which were uncovered in a multi-year investigation led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. The New Jersey task force was formed to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy within the Catholic dioceses of New Jersey, as well as any efforts to cover up such abuse. Attorney General Grewal appointed former Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino, an experienced sex crimes prosecutor, to head the task force and oversee a team of detectives and prosecutors from all 21 New Jersey county prosecutors’ offices and the Division of Criminal Justice.

Here is the full statement from the diocese of Metuchen on Father Ganley's arrest:

January 17, 2019
We have been informed that Rev. Thomas Ganley, a parochial vicar at St. Philip and St. James Catholic Church in Phillipsburg and a chaplain at Warren General Hospital, was charged Thursday afternoon with sexual assault involving a minor. It’s our understanding the victim just came forward to prosecutors as an adult with an allegation of abuse that occurred while a minor in the early 1990s.

As per Church protocol, he would then be removed from the priesthood. The diocese has never received an accusation of sexual abuse nor misconduct in the past regarding Father Ganley. He is currently in custody.

As is our protocol we are contacting all the parishes and diocesan organizations where he ministered to alert them of the charges.

Bishop Checchio lamented, “The sexual abuse of a minor is among the most terrible of crimes because it is committed against society’s most innocent and vulnerable. Incidences of this type truly sicken and sadden me. I am truly sorry to learn of this abuse and the suffering of this victim.”

The Diocese of Metuchen is committed to continuing to provide pastoral care and counseling assistance to abuse victims and survivors. In keeping with our continued commitment to seek healing and justice, we ask anyone with information about this matter, or other situations of misconduct/abuse involving clergy or church personnel, to contact local law enforcement and our Victims Assistance Coordinator in our Office of Child and Youth Protection at 908-930-4558. Please keep all those affected by clergy sexual abuse in your prayers.

Photo of Ganley released by the NJ Attorney General.