By Lillian Schupe
Hunterdon County Democrat
September 12, 2008
http://www.nj.com/hunterdon/index.ssf/2008/09/expriest_to_serve_added_prison.html
On Sept. 5 in the courtroom of Judge Roger Mahon an angry mother confronted the man who had molested her boy.
Nearby sat John Banko, former pastor of St. Edward's Catholic Church in Milford. He wore a tan prison jumpsuit instead of a clerical collar. His hands were in cuffs and chained to his waist. He was being sentencing on charges related to sodomizing the boy at age 9 in 1994, when he was a second-grader in CCD classes.
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| John Banko in 2002 |
Her son went from being an outgoing boy with many friends to being depressed, to hiding in his room, to painting things black and wearing only black clothes. He abused prescription drugs to dull the pain caused by the "one person I should have been able to trust most -- my priest," she said.
The boy's father said what was done to his son "was inexcusable." He described it as a nightmare that began 14 years ago.
The boy, now 23, said the crime will affect him all his life. He said the guilty verdict validates what he went through but doesn't make living with it any easier. He asked that Rev. Banko get the maximum sentence.
After a trial in May, a jury of eight men and four women found Rev. Banko guilty of aggravated sexual assault, first degree, and endangering the welfare of a child, second degree. The victim testified that he was assaulted in the church bathroom at ages 9 and 10. He said he was threatened by Rev. Banko to tell no one.
In 2005 he reported the abuse to his mother, after suffering depression for years. The family had moved out of state by then. His mother asked authorities if Rev. Banko was still at the church, but he had been convicted in 2002 of abusing another boy. He is serving a 15-year term for aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and child endangerment for abusing an altar boy.
Despite two convictions and the opinion of doctors at the Adult Diagnostic Center in Avenel that he is a "repetitive and compulsive sexual offender," Rev. Banko denies he did anything wrong. He sees himself as "an unfairly targeted victim," said Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Solari.
Public defender Peter Abatemarco said his client still maintains his innocence. Now 62, he is in failing health, said Mr. Abatemarco. Rev. Banko declined an opportunity to speak.
Judge Mahon sentenced him to 18 years on the first-degree sexual assault charge and eight years on the endangering charge. The sentences will run concurrent to each other but consecutive to the sentence he is now serving. He will have to register under Megan's Law and pay $10,597 in restitution to the Victims of Violent Crimes Compensation Board, which paid the family.
Under regular prison guidelines, he could be eligible for parole after seven years of his new sentence, but inmates at Avenel often spend more time in custody, Ms. Solari said.
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