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	Victims Group Spreads Info of Accused Priest By Carly Baldwin Jersey Journal November 24, 2008 http://www.nj.com/jjournal/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1227511548206120.xml&coll=3 "Hi, I just want to let you know there's a child molester living in your neighborhood." That's what Joelle Casteix and the Rev. Robert Hoatson spent their Saturday afternoon telling Downtown Jersey City residents about the Rev. Paul Daleo, a resident of Monmouth Street. Casteix and Hoatson are members of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and Daleo is a Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing four boys more than 20 years ago. "By exposing him, we are able to do what nobody did for us. We are able to chip away at the isolation," Casteix said. Casteix, who said she herself is a victim of sexual abuse by a former teacher at her Catholic high school, travels the country alerting people about alleged sexual abuse by priests and other religious figures. "We don't want what happened to us to happen to another child. It's a warning for the community and putting the church on notice," she said. Casteix and Hoatson knocked on doors Saturday, stopped people walking their dogs and left the bright orange fliers on cars, featuring a black and white photograph of Daleo. Many were shocked to learn of the allegations; one woman said she knew Daleo. Two men, now in their 30s, filed civil lawsuits in Delaware this year, accusing Daleo of sexual abuse, the SNAP members said. Two other men have also come forward accusing Daleo of abuse, members said. The men all say Daleo abused them while they were elementary school and high school students at St. Edmond's Academy, a Catholic all-boy school in Wilmington where Daleo worked as a guidance counselor, vice principal and chaplain, according to members. The alleged abuse took place in the mid-1980s and the statute of limitations to press criminal charges has since expired. But a recent state law in Delaware gave victims two years, from July 2007 to July 2009, to file civil lawsuits alleging past sexual assaults. The lawsuits seek unspecified financial damages, dismissal of Daleo from the church and full disclosure by the Catholic church of the alleged abuse. The Wilmington school did not return a phone message left Saturday. When a reporter rapped on Daleo's door Saturday, a neighbor said he wasn't home and he couldn't be reached by phone yesterday. According to Casteix, Daleo is a Capuchin Franciscan Friar. A message left with a chapter of the friars was not immediately returned. A priest at the church where Daleo is said to attend Mass said Daleo's name did not sound familiar. Casteix and Hoatson accuse the Catholic church of protecting Daleo. "He thinks he can live here in hiding; they think they can put him anywhere," Hoatson said. James Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Newark said yesterday he was "unaware" of Daleo. "He was not a priest in the archdiocese to my knowledge," Goodness said. "As far as I'm concerned he's just a person living in Jersey City." According to Casteix and Hoatson, Daleo is not preaching anywhere currently but is working privately, performing baptisms, funeral rites and weddings.
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