A New Jersey priest who allegedly attacked another reverend with a crucifix may avoid jail time.
Reverend Frank Hreno was accused in April 2014 of attacking Reverend Emeka Okwuosa during a dispute over the use of a car at the Vocationist Fathers Retreat and Conference Center in the borough of Florham Park, NJ.com reported.
Okwuosa told borough police Hreno stabbed him in the arm with a four-foot metal crucifix.
But police said Hreno, 51, told them Okwuosa hurt his arm by smashing it into a glass door. Hreno was charged with threatening to kill his colleague, who needed 29 stitches after the alleged assault, according to the Daily Record.
On Tuesday, a Morristown Superior Court judge admitted the Catholic priest into Morris County's Pre-Trial Intervention program, reserved for first-time offenders, the Daily Record reported. He must spend a year on supervised probation and undergo counseling with another priest, his lawyer Peter Gilbreth told the newspaper.
Entrance into the program does not mean admission of guilt. The charges against Hreno will be dismissed and his record expunged if he completes the program.
Okwuosa, who no longer resides at the retreat, previously told CBS New York he bore no animosity towards Hreno following the dispute over who could use the vehicle, which was leased by Hreno but Okwuosa thought it was community property.
Hreno left the retreat after the incident, the Daily Record reported. He is still an active priest, but a decision has to be made on whether or not he can return.
