NEW BRUNSWICK (NJ)
Courier News
BY CHAD WEIHRAUCH
Staff writer
NEW BRUNSWICK -- The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Tuesday it investigated a sexual abuse claim made against a North Plainfield priest but did not prosecute him because the statute of limitations had expired.
The Diocese of Metuchen announced over the weekend it has removed the Rev. John Casey, 47, as pastor of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in North Plainfield, while it looks into the allegations. The accusation involves a charge made by a minor from a time 18 years ago, when Casey was parochial vicar at St. Peter the Apostle parish in New Brunswick.
On Tuesday, Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure declined to comment on specifics but said the diocese had approached the county prosecutor's office -- as a matter of church policy -- and police then investigated.
She would not comment on the age or sex of the alleged victim or on the exact nature of the reported crime. But she said that for more serious sexual abuse crimes -- aggravated sexual assault or sexual assault -- there is no statute of limitations, according to a 1996 state law.