Clergy sex-abuse lawsuit: Camden Diocese priest was a ‘serial molester’

CHERRY HILL (NJ)
Cherry Hill Courier-Post

May 14, 2019

By Jim Walsh

A Catholic priest, previously accused of sexually abusing a child at a parish in Atco, now is alleged to have molested an altar boy at a Ventnor church, according to a lawsuit filed Monday against the Diocese of Camden.

The suit claims a Philadelphia man, Justin Hoffman, was among multiple victims of the late Rev. Brendan Sullivan, who served at 10 parishes and two Catholic high schools between 1960 and 2004.

Hoffman accuses the diocese and a former leader, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, of failing “to warn or otherwise protect children of the diocese of Camden” from Sullivan, who’s described as a “serial molester and sexual abuser.”

A representative of the diocese could not be reached for immediate comment Tuesday morning.

The diocese in February included Sullivan’s name on a list of 57 clergymen credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors.

According to the lawsuit, Sullivan, who was determined no longer eligible to be a priest in 2010, “acknowledged the substantiated allegation of prior abuse” of a 14-year-old boy at Assumption Church in Atco.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.