NEW JERSEY
Patch

By Daniel Nee

A Brick Township priest has been charged with criminal sexual contact against a mother and her minor child, authorities announced Monday afternoon.

Fr. Marukudiyil C. Velan, 64, known to parishioners at Church of the Visitation Roman Catholic Church as “Father Chris,” was arrested Saturday by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and Brick Township Police Department.

Earlier that day, township and county detectives interviewed a mother and her children – parishioners at the church – in connection with a report they had filed against Velan after he visited their home in Brick the day before, said Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford. During that visit, Ford said, it is alleged that Velan had “inappropriate contact” with the adult mother as well as her minor child.

Detectives conducted an investigation that concluded Velan befriended the family before his visit to their home. Ford said the…