Tiny Jersey Shore retreat just lost a $3 million sex abuse case — and 4 more trials are coming

MIDDLE TOWNSHIP (NJ)
NJ.com [Iselin, NJ]

July 21, 2026

By Eric Conklin

A Jersey Shore Catholic retreat center was ordered to pay millions of dollars to a woman who said she was sexually abused there as a teenager, marking the first verdict in a series of lawsuits involving two clergy members.

A Cape May County jury awarded the woman $3 million over allegations that she was abused while volunteering at the Marianist Family Retreat Center in Cape May Point during the 1970s.

The retreat center has been named in five lawsuits filed since 2021 by women accusing John Sheehan, a priest, and Albert Koch, a religious brother, of sexually abusing them as children between 1974 and 1982.

Neither Koch nor Sheehan was named as a defendant.

The jury’s verdict came after a trial held earlier this month that included testimony from the woman, who is only identified in court documents as “Jane Doe RP.”

The woman first disclosed the assaults in 2000, said Ken Fulginiti, her attorney.

The retreat center is run by the Marianist Province of the United States, which is based in St. Louis, Missouri, and is an order within the Catholic Church. Jurors did not find the province liable for the assaults.

In a statement to NJ.com, the province said it is committed to preventing sexual abuse in its various institutions.

“The province unequivocally condemns sexual abuse and has comprehensive safeguarding policies in place designed to protect children and vulnerable adults across our ministries,” the organization said.

The woman’s lawsuit was the first filed in a series of complaints against the retreat center. The alleged victims of Koch and Sheehan ranged in age from 4 to 14, according to NJ.com’s review of the lawsuits.

Koch could not be reached for comment.

An attorney who represented Sheehan during depositions in the case declined to comment. An attorney for Koch did not respond to a request for comment.

In her lawsuit filed in 2021, the woman, a New York resident, spent her first summer at the retreat in 1974 as a 14-year-old volunteer. She stayed at the retreat without her parents, according to the lawsuit.

While at the retreat, she frequently encountered Koch and Sheehan, whose abuse was described in the lawsuit as “unpermitted, harmful, and offensive sexual contact.”

Fulginiti described the verdict as one of the largest payouts in Cape May County’s recent history.

“Our client wanted to be vindicated by obtaining a verdict against the Marianists for the abuse she endured as a child more than five decades ago,” Fulginiti said in a statement. “She is grateful the jury found in her favor.”

Sheehan lived in Hightstown in Mercer County when he died in May 2025 at age 94, according to an obituary.

Koch, now a resident of Ohio, served at the retreat from 1974 to 2019, according to the retreat’s website.

This is not the first time Sheehan has been accused of sexually abusing children.

The Marianists included him on a list of members of the province who were known to have sexually assaulted minors. The list, published in 2020, said Sheehan’s work as a clergy member included assignments in Baltimore, New York and Pennsylvania.

The retreat is one of the oldest religious facilities in Cape May County.

The remaining three cases are expected to go to trial but do not have dates scheduled, a spokesperson from the New Jersey Judiciary said.

Eric Conklin is an award-winning journalist who joined NJ Advance Media in 2023 from The Press of Atlantic City. He began his journalism career as a college student freelancing for Shore Local News Magazine in Atlantic County, helping grow the publication’s footprint in the area. Afterward, he joined the Cape May County Herald as an editorial assistant. Eric is a lifelong resident of Atlantic County and holds a bachelor’s degree from Rowan University. As a reporter, Eric enjoys reporting on breaking news and politics. Outside of work, he enjoys Philadelphia sports, traveling and the beach.

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