Skip to content 
Image: Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, by Bestbudbrian – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A former student has filed another sexual abuse lawsuit against Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey, alleging that school officials and religious organizations failed to protect students from a hockey coach accused of abusing more than 20 boys, Hoodline.com reported per Bishop Accountability.
The complaint, filed last Monday, in Essex County Superior Court, names Paramus Catholic, the Archdiocese of Newark and the Christian Brothers as defendants.
The former student alleges that Bernard Garris, who also worked as a gym teacher, repeatedly sexually abused him during the 1980s. The complaint describes inappropriate contact during athletic examinations and gym class.
Garris died in 2016, but the latest filing adds to years of litigation involving allegations that the school and its religious administrators knew about misconduct and failed to intervene.
School Accused of Ignoring Warning Signs
The lawsuit focuses on the responsibility of the institutions that employed and supervised Garris.
According to the complaint, Paramus Catholic failed to adequately supervise its staff, investigate reports of misconduct and implement policies to protect students from sexual abuse.
The allegations are similar to those raised by former students in earlier lawsuits.
In August 2020, two former students accused Garris of repeatedly abusing them on school grounds and during school-sponsored athletic trips in the late 1980s.
Those plaintiffs alleged that Paramus Catholic and the Archdiocese of Newark knew or should have known about Garris’s behavior but allowed him to continue working with children.
Earlier complaints also claimed that school officials concealed information about allegations involving the coach.
Garris reportedly left Paramus Catholic around 1986 or 1987 following an incident involving physical mistreatment of a student. Accounts differ on the circumstances and timing of his departure.
The central question in the civil litigation is whether administrators had sufficient warning about his behavior and failed to take reasonable steps to protect students.
Allegations Have Continued for More Than a Decade
Garris was first named in a sexual abuse lawsuit involving Paramus Catholic in 2011. That case reportedly resulted in a confidential settlement in 2013.
Additional former students subsequently came forward.
By 2023, more than a dozen former students had accused Garris of sexual misconduct, and several lawsuits were pending against the school and affiliated religious organizations.
Some complaints also accused another former school employee, gym teacher Donn Ernst, of sexual abuse. Ernst died in 2021.
The litigation continued into 2026.
A January lawsuit alleged that Garris sexually abused another former student while the teenager attended Paramus Catholic. A March complaint described repeated abuse on school grounds and during school-sponsored athletic activities.
The latest October filing alleges that more than 20 former students have accused Garris of sexual abuse.
That figure represents reported accusers, not necessarily the number of separate lawsuits filed.
The Archdiocese of Newark has previously declined to comment on pending litigation.
Why Decades-Old Claims Can Still Reach New Jersey Courts
Many of the allegations involve conduct dating back approximately 40 years.
New Jersey’s 2019 changes to its childhood sexual abuse laws made it possible for more survivors to pursue civil claims involving older incidents.
Under state law, survivors of childhood sexual abuse generally have until 37 years after reaching adulthood to file a civil lawsuit. They may also have seven years from the reasonable discovery of their injury and its connection to the abuse, whichever deadline is later.
The changes also established a temporary two-year revival window for previously time-barred claims. That window has since closed, but the extended filing deadlines remain important for survivors considering legal action.
In cases involving schools and religious institutions, civil lawsuits may examine whether administrators ignored complaints, inadequately supervised employees or failed to establish safeguards against abuse.
The Paramus Catholic litigation illustrates how those questions can remain legally relevant long after the accused employee has died.
The October complaint’s full details, including the damages requested and the defendants’ responses, have not yet been independently confirmed through publicly accessible court records.
