Thursday, July 19, 2012
Fr. Marukudiyil C. Velan will not be allowed to return to Mantoloking Road church, however
The Brick Township priest arrested last weekend for two sex offenses is now out on bail. Fr. Marukudiyil C. Velan, 64, had been in jail since last Saturday following his arrest on two counts of criminal sexual contact and a single count of endangering the welfare of a child. His bail had been set at $75,000 cash but later changed to $100,000 with a 10 percent bond option. He was bailed out Thursday. "The Diocese was informed that bail was posted for Father Christudas but we are not aware of who posted it," said Rayanne Bennett, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Trenton, referring to Velan's full name according to the diocese, Velanmarukudiyil J. Christudas. Because the allegation against Velan involved a minor, Bennett said, he will not be …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
'Fr. Chris' defended by Visitation Parish faithful
To parishioners at Church of the Visitation in Brick, it came as the shock of a lifetime. The priest who had encouraged them through times of sadness and fear, who brought food to the local needy and who comforted those who found themselves in periods of grief – had been accused of a crime that is as depressing and disappointing as it is serious and unthinkable. Fr. Marukudiyil C. Velan, 64, known to parishioners at the Mantoloking Road church as "Father Chris," was arrested Saturday and charged with two sex crimes, one against a minor. A garden, named for Father Chris in the back of the church's yard, was empty Tuesday afternoon, a day after his arrest became publicly known. A few tomatoes looked ripe, presumably with no one there to pick…
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Priest at Church of the Visitation was arrested over the weekend for alleged incident Friday
A Brick Township priest has been charged with criminal sexual contact against a mother and her minor child, authorities announced Monday afternoon. Fr. Marukudiyil C. Velan, 64, known to parishioners at Church of the Visitation as "Father Chris," was arrested Saturday by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and Brick Township Police Department. Earlier that day, township and county detectives interviewed a mother and her children – parishioners at the church – in connection with a report they had filed against Velan after he visited their home in Brick the day before, said Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford. During that visit, Ford said, it is alleged that Velan had "inappropriate contact" with the adult mother as well as her …
Michele Murphy
7:46 am on Monday, January 14, 2013
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