NEW JERSEY: Catholic Diocese Agrees To Pay $1M Molestation Settlement

The Catholic Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey has agreed to pay a $1M settlement to five men who were molested by the same priest while they were altar boys.

The settlements, announced today, bring to $1.3 million the amount the diocese has paid to alleged abuse victims of the Rev. Ronald Becker. Becker was removed from the ministry in 2002. He has since died. Becker molested the five boys at Incarnation parish in Ewing hundreds of times between 1972 and 1984, in spans that ranged from six months to four years, according to Mitchell Garabedian, the Boston-based lawyer who represented the men. The abuse occurred in the church, the rectory and on trips.

(Tipped by JMG reader Brian)