Man Who Smashed Mendham Monument to Victims of Sex Abuse by Priests Likely Going with Insanity Defense

By Peggy Wright
The Record
November 26, 2012

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20121126/NJNEWS/311260031/Man-who-smashed-Mendham-monument-victims-sex-abuse-by-priests-likely-going-insanity-defense?odyssey=nav|head&nclick_check=1

The shattered remains of the millstone memorial that was dedicated to childhood victims of sexual abuse at St. Joseph's Church in Mendham. / Daily Record file photo

A man with a history of mental illness, who is accused of using a sledgehammer to destroy a monument in Mendham dedicated to victims of sex abuse by priests, will possibly pursue an insanity defense, his lawyer said Monday.

Borough resident Gordon Ellis, 38, appeared in Superior Court, Morristown, for a brief status conference on charges filed against him in connection with the destruction Nov. 18, 2011, of a 400-pound millstone memorial outside St. Joseph Church.

The memorial, originally erected in 2004, has since been rebuilt and rededicated. The now-defrocked James Hanley had been a priest at St. Joseph, and he had admitted sexually abusing more than a dozen children during his tenure as a priest.

Ellis, who has received further psychiatric treatment since his arrest, is slated for examination by Dr. David Greenfield, a psychiatrist, according to defense lawyer Neill Hamilton. The lawyer later said he expects to pursue a mental disease defense or a finding that Ellis is not guilty by reason of insanity.

The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office would be given the opportunity to review the findings and accept them or have an independent psychiatrist evaluate Ellis. Judge Thomas Manahan set the next conference date for Dec. 17.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com