#New Jersey priest charged with groping woman in church rectory

A New Jersey priest has been charged with groping a woman inside a church rectory, prosecutors said.

The Rev. Donato Cabardo, a 56-year-old priest at St. Paul of the Cross Church in Jersey City, was arrested Friday on two counts of criminal sexual contact and one count of harassment after a woman claimed he groped her breast and backside in the church’s rectory between January and July, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office said Monday.

The adult victim first reported the accusations to the Archdiocese of Newark, which notified the New Jersey Clergy Abuse Task Force and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit, Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.

An investigation found that Cabardo, of Jersey City, allegedly touched the woman’s breast and buttocks “for the purpose of sexually arousing or sexually gratifying himself,” Suarez said in a statement Monday.

Cabardo is also accused of pressing his cheek against the woman’s face and kissing her cheek, hand, face and head, Suarez said.

Cabardo, who was released on a summons complaint, is due in court Sept. 9. It’s unclear if he has hired an attorney, NBC New York reports.

The Archdiocese of Newark is “cooperating fully” in the ongoing investigation, church officials told the station in a statement.

“The Archdiocese of Newark takes seriously all credible complaints of sexual misconduct by members of the clergy, religious, lay staff and volunteers of the Archdiocese of Newark,” the statement read.

It’s unclear how long Cabardo has been a priest at the Jersey City church, NJ.com reports.

Anyone with additional information in the case is asked to contact the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office at (201) 915-1234 or to leave an anonymous tip on the agency’s website.