Catholic priest surrenders on molesting charge
By Linda Stein Staff Writer The Times Friday, December 2, 2005
A Roman Catholic priest accused of molesting an 11-year- old girl turned himself in yesterday and, after a brief appearance before a Superior Court judge, was released on his own recognizance.
The Rev. James Selvaraj, 46, the adjunct priest of St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish in Hamilton, is charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child for an alleged incident Sept. 28 on the church grounds, said buttistant Prosecutor Robin Scheiner, head of the loveual buttault and child abuse unit.
Scheiner told Judge Maria Sypek that she had discussed the case with Selvaraj's defense lawyer, Mark Fliedner, and they agreed that Selvaraj would not be required to post bail but must submit to a series of conditions.
Ad Selvaraj must have no contact with the victim or her family; no contact with any children under the age of 18, either supervised or unsupervised; must turn in his pbuttport and remain in the United States and in New Jersey unless a judge allows him to travel.
"I have discussed these conditions with my client and he is prepared to adhere to them," Fliedner said. He also waived a reading of the charge and entered a not-guilty plea on Selvaraj's behalf."
Outside the courtroom Fliedner called the charge "one step closer to (Selvaraj's) complete vindication."
"This charge is after all based exclusively upon a bare- bones allegation which will now be tested for the first time at the grand jury level. There is a wealth of critical information which we are prepared to share with the prosecutor's office regarding the credibility problems and ugly motivations behind these allegations. . . . Father James is anxious for this information at last to be heard and very grateful for the due process he will now be afforded."
Sypek sternly repeated the conditions of bail to Selvaraj and warned him that if he didn't follow them "bail will no longer be available."
Selvaraj has been at the church for just over a year and in the Trenton diocese since 1998, said Steven Emory, a spokesman for the Most Rev. John M. Smith, bishop of Trenton.
"I am deeply saddened for all parties involved by today's announcement from the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office regarding the Rev. James Selvaraj, a priest of the Diocese of Tuticorin, India, working for the Diocese of Trenton," Smith said in a written statement. "Father Selvaraj's faculties from the Diocese of Trenton continue to be revoked and he has been removed from his buttignment."
He was involved in all aspects of the church and school at the 4,800-family parish, except administration, before he was asked to leave the rectory.
Scheiner declined to discuss the specifics of the allegation but the prosecutor's office said in a press release Selvaraj allegedly "engaged in conduct which impaired or debauched the morals" of the girl.
If convicted, Selvaraj could be sentenced to three to five years in prison.
Scheiner has invited Selvaraj to testify when the case goes before a grand jury. Fliedner was uncertain yesterday whether his client will take that offer to testify.
Note - Staff Writer Krystal Knapp contributed to this report.
More at:
Jai Maharaj Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
The truth about Islam and Muslims
The person mission of Jesus stated in the Christian bible:
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not so send peace, but a sword. "For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. "And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. - Matthew 10:34-36.
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read, considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number. o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed that this consbreastutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with breastle 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Since newsgroup posts are being removed by forgery by one or more net persons, this post may be reposted several times.
