A priest is accused of the sexual assault of a child while he was ministering in Woodbridge almost 30 years ago.
Father Thomas P. Ganley, 63, of Phillipsburg, was charged on Jan. 16 with one count of aggravated sexual assault in the first degree, and two counts of sexual assault in the second degree, in the assault of a child who was between ages 14-17, according to information provided by Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.
The arrest constitutes the first criminal case filed by the New Jersey Clergy Abuse Task Force, which was formed by Grewal in September of 2018 to investigate allegations of clergy abuse. The arrest was made by members of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office assigned to the task force.
Ganley was a priest at Saint Cecelia Church in the Iselin section of Woodbridge when the criminal acts allegedly occurred from 1990-94, according to the statement. He is currently assigned to Saint Philip & Saint James Church in Phillipsburg.
Ganley was being held at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center in North Brunswick pending a detention hearing scheduled for Jan. 18, as of press time.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Paul Kelley at 732-745-4499 or Detective Julissa Alvarado 732-745-3711 from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
The Clergy Abuse Hotline – 855-363-6548 – is staffed by trained professionals and operated on a 24/7 basis. More than 350 calls have been received through the hotline to date.
