NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
[Victims want action from two NJ bishops]
POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON MAY 07, 2013
Most Reverend David O’Connell
701 Lawrenceville Rd
Trenton, NJ 08648
Dear Bishop O’Connell,
It has recently surfaced that Fr. Michael Fugee has violated his signed agreement with prosecutors to have no contact with children. He spent time in your diocese.
Fr. Fugee admitted child sex crimes, was charged in 2001, and convicted in 2003. He was sentenced to lifetime probation and to register as a sex offender. His conviction was later overturned on a technicality. To avoid a retrial, Fr. Fugee signed an agreement with prosecutors to enter a treatment facility, attend therapy, and stay away from children. That agreement was also signed by Fr. Fugee’s Catholic supervisors in the Newark Archdiocese.
We strongly urge you, as head of a diocese where Fr. Fugee ministered, to aggressively appeal for victims and witnesses to come forward and report any abuse. Announcements should be made not only in the diocesan newspaper, but in parish bulletins and from the pulpit during Sunday Masses throughout your diocese. The announcements should encourage anyone who witnessed, suspected or experienced abuse or cover ups or misdeeds to contact law enforcement, not church officials.
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