TEXAS/NEW JERSEY
Patch
Posted by Jason Koestenblatt (Editor) , February 21, 2014
A retired priest from Morris County has been charged with criminal sexual contact by local authorities but has not been taken into custody as he currently resides in Texas.
Morris County Acting Prosecutor Fredric Knapp announced today Reverend Phillip Briganti, 67, formerly of Randolph, was being charged with the fourth-degree crime for “acts involving an adult male.”
Briganti, living in El Paso, Texas, officiated a wedding at St. Paul’s Church in Prospect Park on Nov. 9, 2013, Knapp said. Following the wedding reception, Briganti was riding on a bus with the alleged victim en route to a hotel, Knapp said. It was then Briganti allegedly engaged in unwanted sexual contact with the victim.
The victim notified the Diocese of Paterson, which then alerted authorities in Morris, Passai, and Bergen counties, Knapp said.
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