MEDIA RELEASE – FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015

NEW JERSEY
Road to Recovery

Gregory J. Aker of Linden, New Jersey, is a Catholic religious educator and Boy and Cub Scout leader who has been arrested on federal charges of possession of child pornography and sexual abuse of minor boys.

Gregory J. Aker has been teaching religious education classes at St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Linden, New Jersey and was preparing for ordination as a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish and the Archdiocese of Newark must inform parishioners and the general public about their acceptance of Gregory J. Aker into their diaconate program, the hiring and employment of Gregory J. Aker as a religious education teacher, and what they knew about his deviant sexual interest in children.

What
A demonstration and leafleting to alert the parishioners of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish, Linden, New Jersey, and the general public about the arrest of a religious education teacher, Boy and Cub Scout leader, and a trainee in the Catholic Church’s diaconate program on charges of child pornography and sexual abuse of minor boys.

When
Before and after Saturday evening and Sunday morning Masses in Linden, New Jersey:

Saturday, March 7, 2015 – 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM (Mass is at 5:00 PM)
Sunday, March 8, 2015 from 7:00 AM until 12:30 PM (Masses at 7:30, 9:00, 10:30 and 12:30)

Where
On the public sidewalk outside St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish, 131 East Edgar Road, Linden, NJ 07036 – 908-862-1116.

Who
Members of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families, including its co-founder and President, Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D.

Why
Gregory J. Aker, 47, was charged recently by the United States Attorney of possessing more than 1,240 images and 43 videos of child sexual abuse, and sexual abuse of minor boys. According to news reports, Gregory J. Aker was a Boy and Cub Scout leader, taught religious education classes at St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Linden, New Jersey (a parish of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey), and a trainee for the diaconate program. Demonstrators will distribute literature reaching out to possible sexual abuse victims of Gregory J. Aker and offering to help them heal, call on St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish and Archdiocese of Newark officials to inform the parishioners and general public about Gregory J. Aker, and reach out to Gregory J. Aker’s students and their parents, encouraging them to contact law enforcement officials if additional cases of sexual abuse of minors occurred.

Contact
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Road to Recovery, Inc., 862-368-2800
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, Boston, MA – 617-523-6250

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