Ted Sherman reports for NJ.com:
A New Jersey hotline set up to report abuse by priests has had no shortage of callers who have stories of alleged abuse to tell, officials say.
A week after the state Attorney General’s office launched a special task force to investigate allegations of sexual abuse within the Catholic dioceses of New Jersey, a dedicated call-in center to allow victims to speak with investigators has been all but overwhelmed.
“The hotline has been receiving a high volume of calls — such that additional staff was assigned to receive calls — and some of the calls are reporting multiple victims of abuse,” acknowledged Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the Division of Criminal Justice.
Indeed, some have complained they have had trouble getting through.
@NewJerseyOAG I’ve tried myself and am hearing from a number of survivors that the hotline is not working. But we will keep trying. @TedShermanSL @KellyHeyboer
@NewJerseyOAG been hearing from a number of survivors as well as myself that the hotline is not working properly but we will keep trying until we get thru. @KellyHeyboer @SusanKLivio @TedShermanSL
Aseltine, who would not disclose how many calls have been received, said the state has taken steps to ensure that the hotline is adequately staffed. Calls yesterday to the toll-free number, (855) 363-6548, were being answered almost immediately.
In an interview with NPR, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said the response underscored the need to have hotlines across the country, “because I am certain that this abuse, given the pattern and practices that the Pennsylvania report identified, was not limited to the Northeast.”
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