NEW JERSEY
NJ.com
By Louis C. Hochman/NJ.com
on April 26, 2013
MENDHAM — A ceremony to rededicate the memorial to child victims of clergy sex abuse that was destroyed twice in two years will be held Sunday at 2 p.m.
The ceremony comes near the end of April, recognized as Child Sex Abuse Awareness month. It will be held outside at St. Joseph Church in Mendham, where former Rev. James Hanley once abused several children.
Authorities are still working to determine who vandalized the memorial to child sex abuse victims in early March, when a statue of a girl alongside a millstone was destroyed, and a statue of a boy was damaged. Morris County Crimestoppers is offering $2,000 to anyone who can provide information that leads to the arrest or indictment of the responsible person or people; anyone with any information can call CrimeStoppers at 973-Cop-Call or 1-800-Sheriff.
Organizer Bill Crane, one of Hanley’s victims, led the drive to create the monument in honor of James Kelly, another victim of Hanley’s who committed suicide at age 37. Crane then led the effort to replace it, after borough resident Gordon Ellis allegedly took a sledgehammer to the monument in 2011. Ellis is pursuing a mental health defense in relation to the 2011 vandalism.
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