Here Are 3 'Credibly Accused' Hopatcong-Sparta Priests

HOPATCONG-SPARTA, NJ — The journalism site ProPublica, a Patch Partner, has compiled the most comprehensive list so far of Catholic clergy “credibly accused” of sexual abuse. The list includes abusers from Hopatcong and Sparta.

The searchable database — which includes nearly 200 priests accused from the dioceses of Metuchen, Newark, Trenton, Camden and Paterson — comes on the heels of various reports identifying hundreds of "predator" priests across the state.

Related: Full List Released Of NJ Catholic Clergy Accused Of Sex Assault

Here are the priests on the ProPublic list with Hopatcong and Sparta ties:

William Cramer
Born 1951, ordained 1977
Multiple victims; removed from ministry
Assignments:

• Our Lady of the Lake, Sparta
• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Boonton
• Chaplain, St. Joseph Hospital, Paterson

Gregory White
Born 1969, ordained 1996
Unknown victims; deceased
Assignments:

• Blessed Kateri, Sparta
• St. Anthony, Hawthorne

James Scott
Born 1948, ordained 1974
Unknown victims; removed from ministry
Assignments:

• Faculty, Paul VI High School, Clifton
• Our Lady Star of the Sea, Lake Hopatcong
• Faculty, Pope John High School, Sparta
• Faculty, DePaul High School, Wayne

Along with the list, ProPublica outlined the challenges of identifying offenders long after such widespread abuse became known. The database is a collection of 178 lists released by U.S. dioceses and religious orders as of Jan. 20. There are still more than 40 dioceses and religious orders that have not released information, including five out of seven Florida dioceses.

New Jersey enacted a law last month that extends the statute of limitations in civil actions on sexual abuse claims, creating a two-year window to file cases for which the statute of limitations had previously expired. A number of law firms have announced they were filing lawsuits. Attorneys from Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo, LLP and Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC (PCVA) said they planned to file 38 lawsuits on behalf of dozens of abuse survivors.

The ProPublica project was prompted by a massive grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania that was described by Associated Press as the "biggest and most exhaustive ever" into priest sex abuse by an individual state. The investigation revealed many priests admitted to their actions and were allowed to continue in the ministry for years despite having confessed to molesting children.