SEX-CASE PRIEST IN ‘BAT ATTACK’

Rev. James Hanley, a 69 year old retired priest who has been the focus of numerous complaints since the sex scandal, has been accused of sexually abusing children.  Twenty-one men sued the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, and Bishop Frank Rodimer yesterday, claiming they were sexually abused by clergy members.  Most of the plaintiffs say they were abused as children by Hanley.  Mark Serrano, a leader of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, claims Hanley molested him while he was a child, but is not a plaintiff in the suit.  Hanley, who has declined to discuss the allegations, asked church officials to remove him from the priesthood in June 2002 after Rodimer presented him with the new church policy on sexual abuse adopted by US bishops.  Gregory Gianforcaro, the attorney who filed the suit said, Many of the specific acts of sexual abuse are quite horrific and far exceed fondling.  He said, The acts include, but are not limited to, forced masturbation and oral rape.

Hanley was charged with aggravated assault in New Jersey on March 10, 2006, for allegedly slamming a baseball bat on a Secaucus hotel manager's desk.  

(New Jersey)