Fr. John M. Banko

Ordained: 1972
Status: Convicted

Died: 02/29/2016
Diocese: Diocese of Metuchen NJ

Removed from ministry in 2000. Convicted in 2002 on charges of molesting an 11-year-old boy in 1993. Sentenced to 15 years. At least nine other alleged victims, abused as young as age six. Additional criminal charges were filed in 9/2006 alleging abuse of a boy 1994-1995. Pleaded not guilty in 11/2006. Convicted in 2008. Diagnosed as a  “repetitive and compulsive sexual offender.” Sentenced in 9/2008 to an additional 18 years. Died 2/29/2016 at the New Jersey Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Woodbridge NJ. On the diocese’s list 2/13/2019. Included on the Baltimore archdiocese’s list, which notes sexual abuse alleged in 2002 by Banko in the early 1970s while a seminarian at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. Included in the 4/5/2023 MD Attorney General’s report.


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