Guilty Verdict
Prosecutor credits diocesan cooperation for justice served in priest sex abuse case

By Charissa Carroll Arseneault

Head Staff Writer
and Rayanne Damiano
Editor-in-Chief

The first New Jersey criminal trial of a priest on sexual assault charges since the sex abuse scandal

 rocked the Church earlier this year ended Dec. 11 with the conviction of Father John M. Banko on charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and third-degree child endangerment.

The outcome was hailed by those connected with the case as a textbook example of how through full disclosure of information and cooperation between the Church and law enforcement, abusive priests can be brought to justice.

Father Banko’s conviction was based on incidents dating back approximately nine years when he was pastor of St. Edward the Confessor Parish, Milford. After less than two days of jury deliberations,
Father Banko was found guilty of sexually abusing an 11-year-old altar boy on two consecutive Sundays in the sacristy of St. Edward the Confessor Church, where he served from 1989-95.

He is currently being held in the Hunterdon County Jail, Flemington.  Sentencing is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 7. Father Banko, who was ordained three decades ago in St. Mary Cathedral, Trenton, faces up to 20 years in prison.  Additionally, diocesan officials are preparing to explore the canonical implications of Father Banko’s case.  Banko has been, and is currently, suspended from active ministry indefinitely.

Upon hearing the verdict, Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski stated, “The criminal conviction of Father Banko brings closure to one aspect of what certainly has been a painful ordeal for so many, the first of which are the victim here and his family. Our prayers have been, and continue to be, with them.

“This case proves that when the people of God, its clergy, religious and laity, work with the civil authorities, the truth can be ascertained and justice can be achieved.”

The diocese also responded to the conviction with a statement that apologized to the victims of Father Banko’s crimes.  In that statement, Ronald C. Rak, diocesan general secretary for administrative and legal services, characterized Father Banko’s conduct as “abhorrent” and said that such conduct by anyone affiliated with the diocese “is not and will not be tolerated.”

In an interview with The Catholic Spirit, assistant prosecutor Dawn Solari praised the diocese for fully cooperating with the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office throughout the three-year investigation of Father Banko.

“We couldn’t have done this without the cooperation of the Metuchen Diocese,” she said, explaining that this collaboration ranged from providing documents, such as personnel files, on the defendant to ultimately alerting prosecutors about another alleged victim who provided crucial testimony in the trial.

Besides Solari, Sgt. Lisa Reed, Detective Michael Nugent, retired Sgt. Michael Wolfe and victim advocate Barbara Berberian were all instrumental in the prosecution’s case.

According to Solari, the investigation began in December, 1999, after the victim, now 20, disclosed the abuse to a friend, who subsequently alerted the authorities. After speaking with the victim, Hunterdon County detectives interviewed numerous members of St. Edward the Confessor Parish, as well as St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Skillman, where Father Banko was founding pastor and served from 1982-89, and Mary, Mother of God Parish, Hillsborough, where he was associate pastor from 1996-2000.

Father Banko was also interviewed during the investigation, but denied all allegations, Solari said. He continued to maintain his innocence throughout the trial. While consistently denying any wrongdoing with the victim, Father Banko admitted to having sexual relations with men and women. At the trial, he testified that the “promise of celibacy” he took when he was ordained does not directly mention abstaining from sex. Instead, as he sees it, the promise simply meant he must devote his life to the Church and could never marry.

The diocese was first notified of the abuse allegations against the priest in April, 2000, at which point Father Banko was immediately suspended from active ministry. At the time of the suspension, Father Banko had already taken a leave of absence from Mary, Mother of God Parish to care for his ill mother.

In regard to any canonical proceedings that might be taken against Father Banko, Msgr. William Benwell, vicar general, stated, “In light of the recent acceptance by the Vatican of the revised norms on clergy sexual abuse, and the anticipation of their promulgation in March, it is very early in the process to know precisely what direction it will take.”

He continued, “Obviously, the testimony given in the criminal trial and the decision of the jury will be taken into consideration as we begin to gather facts about initiating canonical proceedings.”

Prior to the founding of the Diocese of Metuchen, Father Banko served the Trenton Diocese as associate pastor in St. Mary of the Lake, Lakewood, from 1972-74, and chaplain in the now defunct St. Pius X High School, Piscataway, from 1974-82.

In addition to the victim, three other witnesses testified during the trial that Father Banko made sexual advances toward them when they were minors.

One witness knew Father Banko from St. Charles Borromeo Parish, while another was a member of St. Edward the Confessor Parish. Both witnesses, now in their 30s, spoke of Father Banko’s inappropriate conduct, which ranged from serving them alcohol to grabbing their buttocks.

The third witness told the court that he was molested by the priest for 10 years, beginning around 1972, when Father Banko was a seminarian in St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore. Prior to the trial, the victim had reported the abuse by his former religious education tutor to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. In August 2002, the archdiocese notified the Diocese of Metuchen of these claims.

According to Rak, the diocese immediately turned this information over to the prosecutor’s office. Following this lead, and ultimately securing the accuser as a key witness in the case, turned out to be a “significant” factor in Father Banko’s conviction, said Solari.

Reacting to the guilty verdict, Solari said she is “extremely gratified” by the jury’s decision for the sake of the victim and his family. She is also appreciative to the other victims for coming forward, with no motives other than ensuring these actions cannot be repeated by Father Banko.

In addition, Solari expressed her hope that the verdict will pave the way for other victims of abuse to speak out and work through the criminal justice system, while sending a strong message to abusers, particularly those in positions of trust and authority.

The diocese’s cooperation with prosecutors was “the humane, moral, and legal course to take,” said Rak, who appeared jointly with Solari for an interview with this paper.

“This is the way these cases should always be handled,” he said. “We did what we are obligated to do, as citizens and as a Church. Our diocesan response team, comprised of abuse victims, law enforcement personnel, medical professionals and diocesan officials, reviewed this case before it went to trial and came to a similar conclusion of guilt. There is no doubt in our minds that the proper verdict was rendered.”

Rak, who attended most of the nine-day trial as the diocese’s representative, commended the victim and his family for having the courage to present the claim to authorities and endure the trial. Rak went on to explain that witnessing the grief of the victim and his family firsthand and speaking with them revealed the far-reaching impact of these types of crimes.

“Obviously, we all recognize the criminal nature of what occurred here, but after spending time with the victim and his family, the enormity of the pain and anguish experienced and the detrimental effect on the victim, which lasts a lifetime, became even more apparent,” he remarked.

In addition to the suffering experienced, first and foremost, by the victim and his immediate family, there are other victims too, Rak explained. These include the victim’s extended family and friends, Father Banko’s family, and Banko’s former parishioners, among others.

“An entire community was devastated by these selfish acts,” he stated.

Affirming the diocese’s commitment to “stand side by side with the prosecutors,” Rak encouraged any other victims of clergy sex abuse to report the abuse to the diocese and to civil authorities.

One victim advocate said he was encouraged by the way the diocese stood by the victim and his family.  Father John P. Bambrick, who was, himself, abused by a priest and is now a representative of the New Jersey chapter of SNAP (Survivors’ Network of Those Abused by Priests), attended Father Banko’s trial as a show of support for the victim. In an interview with The Catholic Spirit, he stated, “The case very clearly demonstrated what is possible when the Church and law enforcement work together.”

He shared his belief that the matter represented a re-establishment of the Church’s mission. Father Bambrick said, “The Church has always been in the forefront of taking care of the poor and all people in need, except when it came to our own children. This case returns the Church to its traditional roots of reaching out to all in need.”

“I think that the presence of the Diocese of Metuchen, its support of the victim, and its assistance in the prosecution has been a great testament to the strength and good will of Bishop Bootkoski to take care of the spiritual needs of the children in the diocese,” Father Bambrick said.

The SNAP member, who is also pastor of St. Thomas More Parish, Manalapan, added, “I noticed that the diocese had a representative there throughout the trial to stand alongside the victim. After being ignored for so long, that was a first. I remember saying that I think we’ve turned a corner in this crisis.”

*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright laws.

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