NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A new lawsuit claims a former Bronx priest “trafficked” a boy to a known child molester during the 1980s.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, claims Bishop John Jenik knew guidance counselor Paul Gruber, convicted of sexual abuse, was abusing minors at Our Lady of Refuge School when he directed Shawn Ganley, 14 at the time, to him.
“Jenik, knowing that Paul Gruber was a sexual assaulter of young boys, trafficked (Ganley) to Gruber when he assigned this predator to act as (his) guidance counselor,” Ganley alleged in court papers, the New York Post reported.
Jenik himself “stepped aside from public ministry” in 2018 after the Archdiocese of New York found a sexual abuse claim against him from the 1980s “credible and substantiated.” He denied the allegations, and his resignation led to protests of support in the Bronx.
Ganley is suing both Jenik and Gruber as well as the Archdiocese under New York state’s Child Victims Act, which allows victims to pursue decades-old allegations until Jan. 14, 2021.
Jenik denied the lawsuit's allegations to the Post, saying “No, absolutely not, that’s bizarre.” He said of Gruber, “We knew the guy was bad.”
Gruber couldn’t be reached for comment by the Post.