According to NBC 4 New York, the 54-year-old Roman Catholic priest approached the child before Mass and asked to see him in a rectory room.
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The alleged incident took place before Sunday services on September 13 after the boy arrived at church with his family, and was “witnessed by several individuals that were standing outside of the room”, the prosecutor’s office reported.
LITTLE FERRY, N.J. (AP) A New Jersey priest allegedly pointed a functioning musket at a young boy inside the church’s rectory and indicated he would fire, prosecutors said. Police arrested Carter on Friday and charged him with endangering the welfare of a child, a third-degree crime, and aggravated assault, a fourth-degree crime. There, he allegedly told the boy to stand against a wall, picked up his musket, and pointed it at him.
Prosecutors said the priest, a Giants fan, was apparently unhappy because the boy planned to root for the Cowboys in a game against the Giants later that day. Carter was being held on $15,000 bail in Little Ferry and has been ordered to surrender all firearms as well as to avoid contact with the child. The Archdiocese contacted the prosecutor’s office three days later. On Friday, police say they found the weapon in the priest’s room as well as gun powder, ammunition, and other items for the gun. But the charges are serious and a major embarrassment for Father Carter who was sworn-in earlier this year as the chaplain of the Little Ferry Police Department.
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Father Carter has been the pastor of St. Margaret since 2013 and helped oversee the church’s restoration from Superstorm Sandy damage, according to the bio on the church’s website.
