Former Matawan Priest Accused Of Sexual Abuse In Rumson

MATAWAN, NJ — A Catholic priest who once worked at the Church of Saint Clement in Matawan was accused this week of sexually abusing a minor at Holy Cross Church in Rumson.

The priest is Father Thomas A. Rittenhouse, who died in 2006. He was named in a lawsuit filed Tuesday of this week by the law firms of Jeff Anderson & Associates and Gianforcaro Law.

The victim, who is now an adult, alleges that Father Rittenhouse sexually abused him or her from approximately 1981 to 1982, when the victim was a minor. This is while Rittenhouse was the parish priest of Holy Cross in Rumson.

Rittenhouse was ordained in 1976 in the Diocese of Trenton, and the suit is filed against the diocese.

Rittenhouse worked from 1998 to 2002 at St. Clement in Matawan. He was also stationed for a time at St. Agnes in Atlantic Highlands. From 1977 to 2002, Rittenhouse was stationed at parishes throughout Central Jersey, including Manasquan, Woodbridge, Hamilton and Hightstown.

In 2019, Rittenhouse was named among 30 former clergymen who are "credibly accused" of sexual abuse against children by the Diocese of Trenton.

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