NEWARK (NJ)
NJ.com
March 12, 2019
By Kelly Heyboer
Rich Fitter wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel when his phone started lighting up late Monday night with the news that the former priest he said sexually abused him and other young boys for years was dead — shot to death in Nevada.
But Fitter said he knows one thing: John Capparelli, the former New Jersey priest and teacher who was dogged by abuse allegations for years but never prosecuted, will never be able to hurt anyone again.
“The world is a safer place without him,” said Fitter, of Sparta. “The guy had a 40-year record of abuse. Whatever lead to his death, it’s a certain amount of karma.”
Capparelli, 70, was found shot to death in his house in Henderson, Nevada, Saturday morning after police were asked to conduct a welfare check, local law enforcement officials said.
“Preliminary investigation indicates the victim died of suspicious circumstances, and the incident is being investigated as a homicide,” local police said in the statement. “A suspect has not been identified at this time and police are following up on developed leads.”
Capparelli was one of 188 priests and deacons in the state who had been “credibly accused” of child sexual abuse, according to a list released by New Jersey’s five Catholic dioceses last month. But the allegations against him were well known.
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