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New Accuser Files Lawsuit Alleging Sexual Abuse by Defrocked Metuchen Diocese Priest

By By Nic k Muscavage
Courier News
December 6, 2019

https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/courts/2019/12/06/defrocked-catholic-priest-nj-named-new-suit-alleging-sex-abuse/2608239001/

A former Metuchen Diocese priest who’s serving a life sentence in a Massachusetts prison for sex crimes against a child has been sued by a man who claims the priest sexually abused him when he was about 11 years old.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in Superior Court in Middlesex County, details allegations against the now-defrocked Romano Ferraro while he was a priest at Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Middlesex and St. John Vianney in the Colonia section of Woodbridge.

In his lawsuit, the plaintiff, who lives in New Jersey and is identified only by his initials B.D.S., said he was raised in a devout Catholic family and attended Our Lady of Mount Virgin School.

Rev. Romano Ferraro. (Photo: ~File)

He recalls Ferraro was brought to the school around 1984 or 1985 when B.D.S. was 11 or 12 years old. He was introduced to Ferraro by the priest of Our Lady of Mount Virgin, according to the lawsuit. Ferraro "took an interest" in B.D.S. and "gave him special treatment."

Ferraro "groomed" B.D.S.'s family "to gain their trust," according to the lawsuit. B.D.S. remembers Ferraro appearing at his family's door around this time with snacks and staying into the evening to watch television and socialize with his family.

B.D.S., now 46, was an altar boy at Our Lady of Mount Virgin, according to the lawsuit, and after Mass one day, while in the sacristy waiting for his mother to pick him up, Ferraro had B.D.S. "pull his pants down" and Ferraro sexually assaulted him.

Ferraro sexually assaulted B.D.S. "on numerous occasions" for about three years, oftentimes in B.D.S.'s own home, according to the lawsuit.

When Ferraro was assigned to St. Rita's parish in Staten Island, he took B.D.S. on a trip to Cape May. On the night before the trip, Ferraro brought B.D.S. to the rectory at St. Rita's to spend the night. Ferraro sexually assaulted B.D.S. "on multiple occasions in the course of that weekend, which included sodomizing" him the St. Rita's rectory, according to the lawsuit.

According to the website of Jeff Herman, one of B.D.S.'s attorneys, Ferraro served in New York City parishes, had a brief stint as a military chaplain, and was sent to Missouri before being assigned to the Diocese of Metuchen in 1984.

He began his service at St. James in Woodbridge before being transferred to Our Lady of Mount Virgin, where he served until 1985 when he was transferred to St. John Vianney. He served there until 1986 when he was transferred to a parish on Long Island.

"Our first concern is, and will always remain, the healing of the survivors of abuse and the well-being of all God’s children," said Anthony P. Kearns III, spokesperson and chancellor of the Diocese of Metuchen. "While these crimes and sins are, in most cases decades old, their actions have long-lasting effects and repercussions. And so, it is our moral obligation to face any allegations, even those from long ago, with transparency and truth to ensure that justice is served and to make certain these actions can never be repeated."

Romano's accusers

Herman, who’s representing B.D.S. along with attorney Ethan J. Sheffet, has represented other clients with allegations against Ferraro in previous lawsuits.

Herman said Ferraro is "the poster boy" for the clergy abuse scandal.

He said he is aware of a "couple dozen" accusers of Ferraro, but said, "I would not be surprised if a guy like Ferraro has hundreds of victims."

The lawsuit detailing the allegations against Ferraro names the Diocese of Metuchen and the Diocese of Brooklyn as defendants.

The lawsuit is one of five filed against the Diocese of Metuchen this week after a new state law extended the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse, allowing people to file civil suits until they turn 55 years old or seven years after they recognize damage from abuse.

Under the previous law, people had two years to file from the time they realized they had been harmed by abuse or until the age of 20 for child sexual abuse.

He began his service at St. James in Woodbridge before being transferred to Our Lady of Mount Virgin, where he served until 1985 when he was transferred to St. John Vianney. He served there until 1986 when he was transferred to a parish on Long Island.

"Our first concern is, and will always remain, the healing of the survivors of abuse and the well-being of all God’s children," said Anthony P. Kearns III, spokesperson and chancellor of the Diocese of Metuchen. "While these crimes and sins are, in most cases decades old, their actions have long-lasting effects and repercussions. And so, it is our moral obligation to face any allegations, even those from long ago, with transparency and truth to ensure that justice is served and to make certain these actions can never be repeated."

Romano's accusers

Herman, who’s representing B.D.S. along with attorney Ethan J. Sheffet, has represented other clients with allegations against Ferraro in previous lawsuits.

Herman said Ferraro is "the poster boy" for the clergy abuse scandal.

He said he is aware of a "couple dozen" accusers of Ferraro, but said, "I would not be surprised if a guy like Ferraro has hundreds of victims."

The lawsuit detailing the allegations against Ferraro names the Diocese of Metuchen and the Diocese of Brooklyn as defendants.

The lawsuit is one of five filed against the Diocese of Metuchen this week after a new state law extended the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse, allowing people to file civil suits until they turn 55 years old or seven years after they recognize damage from abuse.

Under the previous law, people had two years to file from the time they realized they had been harmed by abuse or until the age of 20 for child sexual abuse.

Mark Crawford, New Jersey director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. (Photo: Nick Muscavage/Staff Photo)

Mark Crawford, the New Jersey director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, publicly criticized the Diocese of Metuchen at a press conference in March in front of St. John Vianney for omitting Ferraro's name from its list.

"The bishops are not being totally open and honest with all people, not just the Catholics. They put out a list and they left names off," Crawford said. "They're going to claim, 'Well, he was from Brooklyn.' Well, he was transferred here and worked here for at least three or four years in New Jersey. He victimized families."

He said that his group has had "longstanding proof that his predilection for young boys goes well before he came to New Jersey."

Herman said it was "outrageous" Ferraro was left of the Diocese of Metuchen's list of credibly accused priests.

"One of the most important things we can do for victims is give them information. They have the right to know who knew what and when," he said. "So many victims don't come forward because they're compliant victims – they're abused by somebody they know. Until they see their perpetrator listed, they don't really necessarily comprehend how they were victimized because they blamed themselves."

Ferraro was the only incarcerated former priest on the Diocese of Brooklyn's list of credibly accused, which included more than 100 names. He was removed from ministry in 1988 and defrocked in 2011.

According to B.D.S.'s lawsuit, Ferraro left the seminary prior to ordination "because he was conflicted over his sexual proclivity for boys," but diocesan officials in Brooklyn, who were advised by Ferraro of this issue, convinced him to return to the seminary and "pursue a career in the priesthood."

"The Diocese of Metuchen is aware of the pending lawsuits and while we cannot discuss pending litigation in detail, we can say with confidence that every allegation of abuse, as a matter of strictly adhered to policy, has been and will continue to be reported to law enforcement," Kearns said. "Though this is a painful and horrific chapter in the history of the Church, the Diocese of Metuchen has taken many steps to protect children and will continue on this path, remaining vigilant in our efforts to protect the young and the vulnerable and to prevent these abuses from ever happening again."

The lawsuit claims both the Diocese of Metuchen and the Diocese of Brooklyn known or should have known of Ferraro's "propensity to engage in the sexual abuse of children."

The dioceses had a duty to protect B.D.S. but failed to do so, resulting in severe emotional, psychological and physical injuries and shame, humiliation and "inability to lead a normal life," according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims the church worked to conceal the allegations made against Ferraro and other pedophile priests and acted in negligence in doing so.

B.D.S.'s lawsuit is one of many throughout the state currently making its way through the court system, and Crawford is expecting more lawsuits to be filed in the coming weeks.

"The day of reckoning has come," he said.

Staff Writer Nick Muscavage is an award-winning watchdog reporter whose work spans many topics and has spurred the creation of a state law. Contact him: 908-243-6615; ngmuscavage@gannettnj.com; @nmuscavage.

 

 

 

 

 




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