Poker Playing Priest Accused of Child Porn: Victims Respond

SNAP
October 26, 2016

http://www.snapnetwork.org/nj_poker_playing_priest_accused_of_child_porn_victims_respond

A Newark NJ Catholic priest faces child pornography charges. We hope he’s convicted. We call on Newark’s top Catholic official, Archbishop John Myers, to aggressively reach out to anyone who may have information or suspicions about his crimes.

And we hope this news prompts others who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes to call police so Fr. Kevin A. Gugliotta might be charged with and convicted on other offenses and be kept away from kids even longer.

[app.com]

All too often, when child sex offenders are caught, their supervisors and colleagues clam up. But if kids are to be safer, everyone who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes must call law enforcement immediately. Those who hire or work with predators must do all they can to find others who have been assaulted and beg them to call law enforcement. This is especially true of Catholic bishops, who recruit, educate, ordain, hire, train and often transfer and cover up for predator priests. These bishops can’t wash their hands of these pedophiles just because they’ve been sent somewhere else or have moved somewhere else.

We hope that no one in the NJ Catholic hierarchy ignored or concealed Fr. Gugliotta’s alleged crimes. But we also hope police and prosecutors have investigated or will closely investigate this possibility. We also hope that officials Newark Catholic officials will find the courage to do what’s right – search for and help anyone else who is in pain because of Fr. Gugliotta.

( Ironically, another priest who was also charged with child sex crimes in Wayne County PA is back in the news. The since defrocked cleric, Steven Wolpert, was convicted but is up for parole.

[nydailynews.com]

[wayneindependent.com]

[bishop-accountability.org]

No matter what lawmakers or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact - David Clohessy 314-566-9790 cell, davidgclohessy@gmail.com, Barbara Dorris 314-503-0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org, Mark Crawford, SNAP New Jersey Director, 732 632 7687, mecrawf@comcast.net

Child porn charges for poker-playing priest

Alex N. Gecan , @GeeksterTweets 10:37 a.m. EDT October 26, 2016

TOMS RIVER - A fugitive Catholic priest and nationally ranked poker player wanted on dozens of child-pornography-related charges in Pennsylvania is now in the Ocean County jail after being arrested by township police.

Officials with the Archdiocese of Newark Wednesday confirmed that the priest, Kevin A. Gugliotta, 54, of Totowa, had been removed from his ministry at Holy Spirit Church in Union.

A criminal docket from a Wayne County, Pennsylvania, magisterial court listed 20 allegations against Gugliotta of possessing or viewing child pornography and of disseminating photographs or video of child sex acts. The date of all 40 alleged offenses is July 9 of this year, according to court records.

Prosecutors in Wayne County said that Gugliotta is in jail awaiting . . .