Mendham Man Pleads Guilty to Destroying Monument to Victims of Sex Abuse by Priests

By Peggy Wright
Daily Record
January 15, 2014

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20140115/NJNEWS/301150032/Mendham-man-pleads-guilty-destroying-monument-victims-sex-abuse-by-priests?gcheck=1

The shattered remains of the millstone memorial, dedicated to childhood victims of sexual abuse, as it appeared earlier this week at St. Joseph's Church in Mendham. bob karp/staff photographer

A Mendham man with a history of psychiatric problems pleaded guilty Wednesday to criminal mischief and agreed to pay $7,500 to resolve a charge that he used a sledgehammer to destroy a monument dedicated to victims of sexual abuse by priests.

Gordon Ellis, 39, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Mary Gibbons Whipple in Morristown to a disorderly persons offense of criminal mischief, according to defense lawyer Neill Hamilton and Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Scibetta.

Hamilton called the plea offer “reasonable” and said that reasons behind the vandalism will be given at sentencing on Feb. 7 but were not laid out by Ellis during his guilty plea. Hamilton said that the plea agreement calls for Ellis to make restitution, serve a period of probation that will be determined by the judge, and continue with mental health treatment.

Ellis had been indicted by a Morris County grand jury on a third-degree charge of criminal mischief but in negotiations between Scibetta and Hamilton, the charge was downgraded to a disorderly persons offense. Both sides had recognized that Ellis had a documented history of psychiatric problems.

Ellis, who has frequently appeared for conferences in Superior Court accompanied by a social worker, declined comment after the plea.

He had been charged in connection with the destruction on Nov. 18, 2011, of a 400-pound millstone memorial erected outside St. Joseph Church in Mendham. The memorial, originally erected in 2004, was rebuilt and rededicated after the damage but in March 2013 the memorial that depicted two children was vandalized again and the perpetrator has not been found.

The monument was a response to abuse on children by the now-defrocked James Hanley, who was a priest at St. Joseph and admitted to sexually abusing more than a dozen children during his tenure as a priest, including one man who committed suicide as an adult.

Prior to Wednesday’s plea, Ellis had been undergoing psychiatric treatment and his lawyer had contemplated a defense of mental disease or insanity.

Contact: pwright@njpressmedia.com