NEW JERSEY
NJ.com
By Rob Spahr | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on October 16, 2014
TOMS RIVER – A Brick Township priest has been convicted of criminal sexual contact on a female parishioner, but was acquitted of six other crimes involving the alleged molestation of the woman’s two children, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Spokesman Al Della Fave said.
The jury announced its verdict in the trial of 66-year-old Marukudiyil Velan on Wednesday after deliberating for several hours over two days.
Della Fave said the priest likely faces only a probationary sentence and because the fourth-degree crime he was convicted of is not a Megan’s Law offense, Velan will not be required to register with police.
“But hopefully with the jury’s verdict his current vocation will nevertheless be impacted,” Della Fave said via email.
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.