Wyckoff Area Priests Named On 'Credibly Accused' List

FRANKLIN LAKES/WYCKOFF, 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 five accused abusers with ties to the Wyckoff area.

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 Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes:

John Nickas

He was born in 1940 and ordained in 1966. He has died.

Assignment history:

• St. Peter Claver, Montclair
• St. Rocco Community Outreach Center, Newark
• St. Rocco School, Newark
• St. Rocco Parish, Newark
• Chaplain - Essex County Prison, Newark
• St. Patrick Pro-Cathedral, Newark
• Most Blessed Sacrament, Franklin Lakes

Michael C. Fugee

He was born in 1961 and ordained in 1994. He was permanently removed from ministry, according to the database.

Assignment history:

• St. Antoninus, Newark
• Sacred Heart, Rochelle Park
• Chaplain - St. Michael Medical Center,Newark
• St. Elizabeth, Wyckoff
• St. Rose of Lima, Short Hills

Kevin Gugliotta

He was born in 1962, ordained in 1996 and has been permanently removed from ministry, according to the database.

Assignment history:

• Holy Spirit, Union
• Immaculate Conception, Mahwah
• Ramapo College, Mahwah
• St. Bartholomew, Scotch Plains
• St. Joseph, West Orange
• St. Elizabeth, Wyckoff
• St. Rose of Lima, Short Hills

Charles Hartling

He was born in 1941, ordained in 1979 and is now deceased.

Assignment history:

• St. Mary, Rutherford
• St. Elizabeth, Wyckoff
• Holy Spirit, Union

David Ernst

He was born in 1926, ordained in 1954 and is now deceased.

Assignment history:

• St. Elizabeth, Wyckoff
• Ss. Joseph and Michael, Union City
• Holy Spirit/Our Lady Help of Christians, East Orange

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.