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The men accuse the church of failing to protect them from the Rev. David Ernst, who was assigned to Saint Mary's in Rutherford and taught at Our Lady Help of Christians parochial school in East Orange.
Jeff Anderson & Associates, the firm representing the two alleged victims, held a press conference Wednesday. Click here to watch.
The suits were filed by Stephen Tyminski, now a 66-year-old Orthodox priest in Queens, and Keith Mozian, 56, of Califon, under recent law that extends the amount of time victims of sexual assault can file lawsuits.
Stephen Marlowe, 48, of Hoboken, previously accused Ernst of abuse in 2014. He spoke on behalf of Mozian at the conference Wednesday.
Tyminski said he was abused between 1966 and 1968 (ages 12 to 14) and Mozian said he was abused in 1976 when he was 12, at St Mary in Rutherford.
The archdiocese said it's working with state authorities and is committed to accountability and transparency.
Ernst was ordained in 1954 and died in 1998.
Last year, Ernst was identified by the Newark Archdiocese as a priest who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse of children, and had been previously reported to authorities.
A suit against him and nine other priests in 2004 was settled for $1 million to resolve allegations of child sex abuse.
“Not only did he abuse 2 kids, but he was a serial offender,” said attorney Jeff Anderson at the press conference.
Click here to watch the press conference.
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