Ridgewood Priests Named On 'Credibly Accused' List

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — The journalism site ProPublica, a Patch Partner, recently released the most comprehensive list so far of Catholic clergy "credibly accused" of sexual abuse.

The list includes six accused abusers with ties to Ridgewood.

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 ties to Ridgewood.

John Capparelli

He was born in 1948, ordained in 1980 and has been permanently removed from ministry, according to the database.

Assignment history:

• Our Lady of Fatima, North Bergen
• Oratory Prep, Summit
• Holy Trinity, Westfield
• St. Theresa, Kenilworth
• Temporary Chaplain - Valley Hospital, Ridgewood

Robert Zasacki

He was born in 1940, ordained in 1967 and is now deceased.

Assignment history:

• St. Joseph, West Orange
• St. Francis De Sales, Lodi
• St. Leo's, Irvington
• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Ridgewood
• St. Brigid, North Bergen

Eugene Heyndricks

He was born in 1942, ordained in 1981 and is now deceased.

Assignment history:

• St. John Nepomucene, Guttenberg
• St. John the Baptist, Fairview
• Our Lady of Mercy, Park Ridge
• Our Lady of the Lake, Verona
• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Ridgewood

Robert Gibney

He was born in 1927, ordained in 1954 and is now deceased.

Assignment history:

• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Ridgewood
• Chaplain - Overlook Hospital
• St. Catherine of Siena, Cedar Grove
• St. Mary, Dumont
• Military Chaplain
• Sacred Heart, Vailsburg
• Immaculate Conception Seminary, South Orange
• St. Cecilia, Kearny

John Komar

He was born in 1937, ordained in 1964 and is now deceased.

Assignment history:

• St. Matthew, Ridgefield
• Chaplain - Englewood Hospital, Englewood
• St. Joseph, Bayonne
• Chaplain - Valley Hospital, Ridgewood
• St. Margaret of Cortona, Little Ferry
• Our Lady of Fatima, North Bergen
• Chaplain - Jersey City Medical Center, Jersey City
• St. Philip the Apostle, Saddle Brook

Augustine Giella

He was born in 1920, ordained in 1950 and is now deceased.

Assignment history:

• St. Catherine, Glen Rock,
• Epiphany, Cliffside Park
• Our Lady Of Sorrows, Jersey City
• Holy Trinity, Hackensack
• St. Joseph's Church, Hanover
• St. John the Evangelist, Enhaut

Related: List Of NJ Priests Accused Of Child Sex Abuse

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.