December 03, 2005

Priest charged with endangering welfare of child

TRENTON (NJ)
The Trentonian

PETE DALY, Staff Writer 12/02/2005

TRENTON -- A 46-year-old priest from India who had ministered at St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish was charged with endangering the welfare of a child yesterday.

Rev. James Selvaraj was barely audible as he entered a not guilty plea before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Maria Sypek and said he understood the single count against him.

Selvaraj engaged in conduct "which impaired or debauched the morals of an 11-year-old female" at the Hamilton Township parish on Sept. 28 of this year, according to the prosecutor’s office.

The priest was released on his own recognizance after the hearing, but Sypek ordered he surrender his passport and said he could not leave the state without a court order.

Selvaraj, who served as a priest in the Diocese of Tuticorin, India before arriving in Trenton, was also removed from his duties by the Diocese of Trenton yesterday.

Posted by kshaw at December 3, 2005 10:49 AM