NEW JERSEY
NJ.com
By Craig Turpin | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
John Banko, a former Hunterdon County and Somerset County priest serving 41 years for sexually assaulting two altar boys, died Monday at the New Jersey Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in the Avenel section of Woodbridge.
Matt Schuman, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, confirmed to mycentraljersey.com that Banko, 69, was pronounced dead at 9:29 a.m. Monday.
Banko is a former Catholic priest who was convicted in 2008 of sexually assaulting a young boy at St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Milford. He was previously convicted of assaulting another boy at the same church, and was also accused of assaulting boys at other churches dating back to the 1970s, it was previously reported by NJ Advance Media. Banko maintained his innocence throughout the trial and an appeal.
The victim testified when he was between the ages of 9 and 10 he was assaulted several times in the church bathroom and threatened by Banko to tell no one. The boy reported the abuse to his mother in 2005 after suffering depression for years.
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