By Jennifer Golson
The Star-Ledger
November 3, 2010
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/nj_appellate_judges_uphold_sex.html
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| John Banko |
A panel of appellate judges today dismissed the lesser part of a 2008 conviction a Roman Catholic priest received for sexually assaulting a boy in the 1990s in Hunterdon County.
John Banko, now 64, was convicted of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child for the attacks at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Milford.
Judges Paulette Sapp-Peterson and Marie Simonelli upheld the more serious offense and reversed the second-degree conviction. The case, however, may not be over. The Office of the Public Defender handled Banko’s appeal and spokesman Thomas Rosenthal said they plan to petition the state Supreme Court.
The state Attorney General’s Office also is considering whether to petition the high court, said spokesman Peter Aseltine. The appellate judges dismissed the endangerment charge, and Banko cannot be retried on that count.
Known as "Father Jack," Banko was already serving 15 years on a 2002 conviction for sexually assaulting an altar boy at the same church in the 1990s. The second conviction resulted in a consecutive 18-year sentence. He is at the Adult Diagnostic Treatment Center in Avenel.
He was the first Catholic priest in New Jersey to be convicted after child sex abuse scandals became a national issue. Hunterdon County Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Solari represented the state at both trials.
The victim in the 2008 case, identified as T. P. in court papers, was 9 and 10 years old when Banko abused him between September 1994 and January 1995. He did not report the assaults until he was 18 or 19.
In his appeal, Banko’s attorney challenged the instructions state Superior Court Judge Roger Mahon gave the jury regarding Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome, the psychological theory explaining typical behaviors of children who have been sexually abused, including the reluctance to come forward.
Mahon said jurors may not automatically conclude that the victim’s testimony was untruthful based on his delayed disclosure. Public defender Jacqueline Turner insisted that last sentence unconstitutionally intrudes on the jury’s function to determine credibility. The appellate judges disagreed.
"Rather, the sentence, along with the general instruction on witness credibility, properly guided the jury to consider T.P.’s delayed disclosure, along with all other evidence, in assessing his credibility," they said.
On the endangerment charge, the state had to prove that there was an ongoing supervisory or caretaker relationship between Banko and the child. "Defendant’s status as a pastor and his periodic interactions with T.P. in and of themselves do not establish such a relationship," the decision says.
Deputy Attorney General Leslie-Ann Justice handled the appeal for the state.
Banko remains a priest, but cannot serve Mass or perform other priestly functions, said Joanne Ward, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Metuchen.
"At the time of Father Banko’s second conviction, the Bishop of Metuchen petitioned the Pope to dismiss Banko from the clerical state," Ward said. "This process is pending. At the moment, Banko remains a priest but has not been permitted to function as one since his incarceration."
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