WYCKOFF (NJ)
The Star Ledger
Bergen cleric’s backers weep along with him
Saturday, April 12, 2003
BY ANA M. ALAYA
Star-Ledger Staff
A Bergen County Roman Catholic priest was found guilty yesterday of aggravated sexual contact for groping a teenage boy during wrestling horseplay several times over a two-year period.
The verdict clearly shook the Rev. Michael Fugee, 43, and a group of supporters from the Wyckoff parish where he had served, who wept along with him moments after the jury announced its decision.
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“We feel betrayed by the system, and by the family of the boy who brought the charges,” said Gail Edelman, a cousin of Fugee.
The former associate pastor at St. Elizabeth Church in Wyckoff is the second priest in New Jersey to be convicted of a sex crime since a national scandal involving abuse by Catholic priests erupted early last year.
