Father James Francis Hopkins
Diocese of Camden
Ordained: 1968
Removed from ministry: 1995
Laicized: 2004
Assigned as follows:
- Holy Maternity (Audubon, NJ)
- St. Cecilia (Pennsauken, NJ)
- Annunciation (Bellmawr, NJ)
- Holy Family (Turnersville, NJ)
- St. Vincent de Paul (Mays Landing, NJ)
- St. Peter (Merchantville, NJ)
- St. Aloysius (Oaklyn, NJ)
- St. Pius X (Cherry Hill, NJ)
- St. Maurice (Brooklawn, NJ)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father James Francis Hopkins:
In 2003, Father James Hopkins was arrested and charged with the sexual assault of a 10-year-old boy in 1995. The abuse occurred between May and December 1995, when Hopkins was an associate pastor in St.Pius X parish in Cherry Hill and St. Maurice in Brooklawn, New Jersey, and took place in the Pennsauken home of the victim and in Hopkins’ car, a black vehicle with tinted windows.
Hopkins met the victim and his devout Catholic parents, when he was a priest in St. Peter’s parish in Merchantville, from 1986 to 1988. He remained in touch with the family after leaving Merchantville and moving to St. Aloysius parish in Oaklyn.
Additionally, the PA Grand Jury Report Profile states that in November 2012, the Diocese of Pittsburgh received an e-mail communication from an adult male about Father James Hopkins. He stated that several decades earlier, Hopkins performed a “medical exam” on him when he was a freshman at St. Fidelis Seminary High School.
The exam involved the young man bending over naked in front of Hopkins and listening to Hopkins make creepy comments about his behind. There was no indication in the records that the Diocese of Camden conducted an investigation or attempted to contact the male about counseling.
Hopkins was released from prison and currently resides in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where he is a registered sex offender.
Contact us today.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Camden. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in New Jersey, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Camden now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims, but filing deadlines apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in New Jersey and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at (954) 641-2100 or [email protected].