NEW JERSEY
National Catholic Reporter
Brian Roewe | May. 21, 2013
Fr. Michael Fugee, the Newark, N.J., priest at the center of a child protection scandal in the state, was arrested Monday for violating a court agreement not to minister to children.
According to a statement released by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s office, Fugee was charged with seven counts of contempt of a judicial order, all fourth degree crimes, with a maximum prison sentence of 18 months. Bail was set for $25,000; Fugee remained in jail overnight.
His arraignment court hearing was scheduled for Tuesday morning. He has retained his own legal counsel, according to the Newark archdiocese.
The prosecutor’s office said that its investigation revealed seven instances where Fugee heard confessions from children in the past three years, as recently as December. Locations included the Claremont Retreat Center in Mt. Arlington (part of the Metuchen diocese), the Kateri Environmental Center in Wickatunk, and several parishes in Rochelle Park (part of the Newark archdiocese).
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.