He said the incident took place between two Masses and that there were at least eight people present in the room, seven of whom did not see anything inappropriate.But, two points to keep in mind,,,
“We’re confident that Father is going to be vindicated, and we’re just hopeful that at some point quickly these charges will be dismissed,” Cassidy said. “And quite frankly, it looks like at this point that they shouldn’t have been brought.”
He added that he believed the charges were filed “in good faith,” noting that prosecutors often handle difficult cases and have “hard calls to make.” “We just hope that as this goes forward, we can come to a point where these charges will be dismissed, and the boy’s family and the boy will not have to go through this.”
“The charge that this good and decent man had pointed a gun … with reckless and complete utter disregard for the sanctity of human life could never be supported,” Cassidy said. “And the charge that he was guilty of any kind of child abuse cannot be sustained.”
One, according to his attorney,
Sounds like great fun. Hopefully this child doesn't share it with his friends one day by "raising" a gun at them.Cassidy said the banter about the name had been good-natured, and the weapon happened to be raised at one point.
“Everyone’s laughing, the child was laughing. It was in good fun and they all went out to mass,” Cassidy said.
Cassidy said a fellow parishioner misinterpreted the events and filed a complaint.
Two, if any other person but preacherman Carter had done this, they (like Carter) would be charged with child endangerment and aggravated assault by pointing a firearm. There would be no police or groupies going to court to support them.
To say that this incident is "just a misunderstanding" sets a dangerous precedent and it should be dealt with accordingly.Carter thanked a contingent of 50 or so supporters who he said included congregants from several parishes, as well as law enforcement officers mainly from Jersey City and the Port Authority.
Carter was a chaplain for the Jersey City Police Department and other police agencies, and said he attended at least six line-of-duty services for the JCPD -- for whom his father served for 40 years.
Carter, an avid Giants fan, and the boy, who roots for the Cowboys, were talking about football. The NFL teams were scheduled to play that night.
Prosecutor John Molinelli said Carter asked the boy to step into one of the rectory's rooms and stand against a wall, where he pointed the musket at him.
Harold Cassidy, the lawyer, said Carter had been wrongfully charged over what happened between him and the boy, calling it "an innocent banter."
"So when somebody saw the young fellow with the Cowboy jersey, they thought it was a great opportunity to rib Father about the game that day, between the Cowboys and the Giants," Cassidy said. "So the family initiated the discussion and sought to initiate an exchange, a good-natured ribbing, between the two of them. ... It's incorrect to think the child was in fear. He was not."
A parishioner reported the incident to the Archdiocese of Newark late last month, and officials there notified prosecutors.
,,,
Molinelli has said he doesn't consider pointing a gun at someone, especially a child, to be a joke.
New Jersey priest accused of pointing musket at boy over football teams pleads not guilty | abc7ny.com
P.S. - This is definitely an odd circumstance and what "punishment" is appropriate (if any) remains to be determined. The biggest issue is going to be figuring out exactly what did transpire as every news report I read, something different or new was added to the narrative. What caught my attention, the "number" of news reports concerning the said incident - 17 and counting.
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