Five years ago, Pat and Louis Serrano's world was turned upside down.

It was then that their son, Mark, publicly disclosed he had been sexually abused by a priest in his New Jersey hometown from the time he was 9 years old until he was 16.

Mr. and Mrs. Serrano will be visiting Highland Presbyterian Church Thursday to share their story with the public.

"(Mark) went to the bishop in 1985 — he was 21 at this time — to report the abuse," Mrs. Serrano said in a telephone interview Thursday from her home in Mendham, N.J. "He was told not to tell his parents because it would only upset them."

Mr. and Mrs. Serrano are Eucharistic ministers at Church of St. Joseph, where Mr. Serrano also is a lector. But Mrs. Serrano said they were clueless about their son's abuse. There were fewer than 5,000 people living in their town, yet "nobody got a whisper of it."

The children, however, were aware of the abuse and even called their priest, James Hanley, "Father Handle Me," Mrs. Serrano said. "It's a mystery how he got away with it for so long."

In 1987, Mark sued the Diocese of Paterson, N.J. As part of a settlement, he was told to keep silent about the abuse.

He did so until 2002, when allegations of clergy sexual abuse of minors in Boston began to surface.

Mark, now a resident of Leesburg, Va., told his story to The New York Times "to protect other children," his mother said.

According to The New York Times, Serrano's molestation included groping, sodomy, oral sex and forced masturbation by the now-defrocked Hanley.

Hanley has since confessed to — but was never convicted of — abusing 11 boys. Mrs. Serrano said she estimates his victims probably number closer to 100 — including those children to whom Hanley admittedly provided alcohol and pornography, part of what Mrs. Serrano called their "grooming."

Besides Mark, Hanley also started grooming the two youngest of the Serranos' seven children, Mrs. Serrano said.

"These pedophiles are so happy-go-lucky and fun, fun, fun for the kids (as they are grooming them)," Mrs. Serrano said.

She said Hanley sometimes took children, including hers, to the movies and other places. Hanley even took her son to see the pope when he visited New Jersey, she said.

"(Abusive priests) would buy (the children) gifts and bring them along until they are trapped in a cage of silence and can't get out," Mrs. Serrano said.

Although the statute of limitations kept Hanley from being convicted of sexual abuse, he is currently being held in a Hudson County, N.J., jail on charges of making terroristic threats to a hotel clerk.

Last week, Hanley asked for pretrial intervention because he has no past history of criminal behavior on record, said Mrs. Serrano, who was at the courthouse watching the proceedings.

"It was a pleasure to see him in shackles," Mrs. Serrano said. "Very few get to see the perpetrator (of abuse) in chains since very few go to jail."

Mr. and Mrs. Serrano are active in helping survivors of sexual abuse and their families.

In 1996, Mrs. Serrano founded the support group Healing Our Survivors Together. She also is the New Jersey family outreach director for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Mark Serrano also is a board director of SNAP.

Pat and Louis Serrano will tell more of their story at a free community event at 7 p.m. Thursday at Highland Presbyterian Church, 1801 Oregon Pike. Members of Parents Reaching Out to Parents of Sexually Exploited Children will offer coffee, light refreshments, resources and fellowship. To register or for more information, call Samaritan Counseling Center at 560-9969.

E-mail: lvaningen@lnpnews.com