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	Former Child-Molesting Priest Is Jailed on Unrelated Charges By Jeff Diamant The Star-Ledger February 1, 2008 http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1201844208300760.xml&coll=1 The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office filed bail-jumping charges yesterday against former priest and admitted child molester James Hanley stemming from an unrelated case involving an incident at a Secaucus motel nearly two years ago, authorities said. On Dec. 14, Hanley failed to appear at sentencing for a weapons offense in the March 2006 case. An arrest warrant was issued and Hanley has been behind bars at the Hudson County Corrections Center in Kearney since Dec. 29, Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor Howard Bell said. The precise details of Hanley's arrest were unavailable yesterday. But he was picked up by Hudson County Sheriff's deputies at the Paterson Police Department on Dec. 29. Officials in Paterson could not provide further details last night. Hanley, 71, had pleaded guilty Oct. 24 to unlawful possession of a weapon. He admitted using an aluminum bat to intimidate three employees at the Extended Stay Hotel in Secaucus on March 10, 2006. After spending about a year in jail awaiting trial, he was not expected to receive any prison time when sentenced. But he could now receive more jail time. The maximum sentence for the bail-jumping charge is 18 months, Bell said. Hanley's new sentencing date for the weapons charge is Feb. 15. His lawyer, assistant public defender James Convery, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Hanley was removed from the Catholic clergy five years ago. He later admitted in a sworn statement for a civil lawsuit that he sexually abused about a dozen child parishioners in Mendham and Pompton Plains between 1968 and 1982. Because of expired statutes of limitation, he has never been criminally charged in those cases. In 2004, the Diocese of Paterson settled lawsuits with 21 of his accusers for nearly $5 million.
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