Laicization Is Not the Best Policy, Part 57,345

If this guy were kept in P&P (prayer and penance), this wouldn't have happened. From the North Jersey desk:

James T. Hanley, a former Roman Catholic priest at the center of a highly publicized sexual abuse case, faces criminal charges for allegedly slamming a baseball bat on a hotel manager's front desk.

Hanley, 69, was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose over accusations that he was violent toward a desk manager at the Extended StayAmerica Secaucus-Meadowlands hotel on Friday....

Hanley said he was using the baseball bat as a cane, and that he hit the desk after a manager refused to give him his room key until he paid his bill.

But the desk clerk had a different version of events.

Osei Karikari, 23, said that Hanley told him he was handsome, offered him gifts, hugged him and kissed his cheek....

More than two dozen men who said they were abused by Hanley sued the Paterson Roman Catholic Diocese and agreed to a $5 million settlement last year. They claimed that church officials, including former Bishop Frank Rodimer, failed to take action to protect the youths.

Hanley was not sued because he cooperated with the plaintiffs, providing a statement detailing sexual acts he did with about 20 of the boys. The statement also said he admitted to Rodimer in 1984 that he had molested about a dozen boys.

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