Prep school dean, parish priest abused me, man alleges in suits

By Thomas Moriarty
NJ.com
May 16, 2017

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2017/05/archdiocese_of_newark_sexual_abuse_suit.html

Robert Gibney (left) and William Giblin.

NEWARK -- A former member of Sacred Heart Parish who attended Seton Hall Preparatory School is suing both institutions and the Archdiocese of Newark, claiming they failed to protect him from repeated sexual abuse by two priests in the 1960s.

The plaintiff, whose representatives asked that he be identified only as "John Doe," claims Revs. Robert Gibney -- who was a priest at the now-closed Vailsburg church -- and William Giblin, the former headmaster of Seton Hall Prep, both sexually abused him in the 1960s.

Gibney, who died in 2012, is alleged to have abused the boy on several occasions. Giblin, who died in 2011, is alleged to have abused the boy at the prep school, according to John Doe's lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian of Boston.

In addition to the priests' alleged injuries to him in violation of New Jersey law, Doe's two complaints in state Superior Court seek punitive damages for what the lawsuits claim were gross negligence and intentional misconduct by the institutions, whose officials he says should have known of the abuse and prevented it.

"In each of the two cases, one has to question where the supervisors were and why they were they not properly supervising the Catholic priest, whether that priest was Rev. Robert Gibney or Rev. William Giblin," Garabedian, who was portrayed by Stanley Tucci in the 2015 film "Spotlight," said.

Jim Goodness, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese -- which oversees the church and schools -- declined to comment Tuesday when reached by email.

Garabedian said he has settled one prior claim for an amount "well into the five figures" regarding alleged abuse by Gibney at Sacred Heart. In that case, Garabedian said, his client was 10 to 12 years old at the time of the abuse.

The attorney, who expects to be filing an appearance in state Superior Court, told NJ Advance Media his client should be proud of himself for reporting the abuse.

"In doing so, he has empowered himself, other sexual abuse victims and made the world a safer place for children," he said. "The allegations raise a red flag to parents everywhere to watch their children diligently when in the presence of adults."

Giblin served as a professor at Seton Hall University -- also named as a defendant -- until the late 1960s, when he took over as headmaster at Seton Hall Prep, a role he served in until the 1980s, The Star-Ledger previously reported. He later served at St. Joseph's in East Orange until 2001.

He was charged by authorities in Canada in 2002 with soliciting sex from minors, allegations prosecutors said stemmed from the discovery of a teenage prostitution ring in Montreal.

Authorities alleged Giblin had negotiated sex between another New Jersey priest, Rev. Eugene Heyndricks, and a 16-year-old male prostitute, the paper reported at the time.

The charges against Giblin were later dropped, while Heyndricks pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation.

Garabedian said the litigation was initiated with two separate complaints filed in March.

As both Gibney and Giblin are deceased, Garabedian said he intends to seek damages from their estates "if possible."