NEW JERSEY
The Jersey Journal

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Mark Crawford says he felt like a prisoner.

Crawford grew up on Lexington Avenue in Bayonne, blocks from St. Andrew the Apostle Church, where his family worshipped. When he was in seventh grade, the congregation welcomed a new priest: the Rev. Ken Martin.

Martin quickly befriended Crawford’s large, devoutly Catholic family, according to Crawford.

“He took a very keen interest in me,” he said. “Showered me with gifts.”

The relationship grew. Martin was a railroad enthusiast and had a large model train in the rectory, which fascinated the train-obsessed Crawford. With Crawford’s parents’ permission, the two went on a month-long trip — partly by train — to Colorado in August 1976 when he was 13 years old. …

Like Crawford, Rennar — whose legal name is Keith Brennan — was also raised in a “devoutly Catholic” household, he…