New Jersey hotline to report abuse by Roman Catholic priests is overwhelmed

As reported by James Nash and Nicholas Pugliese of the Bergen Record, September 18, 2018:

A hotline the New Jersey attorney general set up to report sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has been "ringing off the hook" for nearly two weeks, the state's top prosecutor said.

"We've had to put extra resources into taking those calls," Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Tuesday. "We're triaging those complaints for follow-up. If there's something that requires immediate follow-up, hypothetically someone alleging current abuse, that moves to the top of the list."

Grewal would not characterize the nature of the calls his office has received, including whether any of the callers alleged ongoing misconduct.

On Sept. 6, Grewal announced that his office was forming a task force led by a veteran sex-crimes prosecutor to investigate any claims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in New Jersey, as well as any evidence that the church attempted to cover up misconduct.

The office also set up a round-the-clock hotline, 855-363-6548, for people to lodge allegations.

The action followed disclosures by the Pennsylvania attorney general that identified more than 1,000 victims of abuse at the hands of more than 300 priests over 70 years. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro also outlined evidence of a cover-up by church leaders and accusations of sexual abuse against at least four priests who spent part of their ministries in New Jersey.

Pat Brannigan, executive director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference, said this month that he expects a far smaller number of abuse claims in New Jersey. He noted that the church has had an agreement with prosecutors since 2002 to immediately report any current or past abuse claims to civil authorities.

"We will remain vigilant to ensure the safety of every child we serve," Brannigan said by email.

Grewal spokesman Peter Aseltine declined to say how many calls the hotline has received so far or whether any of those calls have led to formal criminal inquiries. Taking questions from reporters at an unrelated news conference, the attorney general would not say whether the task force has issued any subpoenas so far.

State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, who encouraged Grewal to set up the task force and hotline, said his office also has gotten calls from alleged abuse victims.

“Since the announcement of the attorney general’s creation of a task force and his plans to empanel a grand jury to investigate clergy abuse in the state of New Jersey, many victims have reached out to my office to ask what they can do to help," Vitale said in a statement.

See also here.