Retired Secaucus Police Officer Accused of Sexually Abusing Boy in 1994

SECAUCUS, NJ — A retired Secaucus police officer is accused of molesting a 12-year-old boy in the 1990s. Walter Hurrell, a former police officer in the Secaucus Police Department, was sued this week by his alleged victim, a man identified in the lawsuit as “John Doe," to protect his anonymity.

The man says Hurrell molested him at Hurrell’s home in Secaucus in the fall of 1994.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Hudson County Superior Court.

The man sued Hurrell, the Secaucus Police Department and the town of Secaucus. The lawsuit was filed under New Jersey’s Child Sexual Abuse Act, which allows certain previously time-barred claims involving child sexual abuse to proceed in civil court.

The man was 12 years old at the time, and lived in Secaucus with his mother and father. His mother worked for the police department, he said.

The man said when he was a boy, he frequently visited his mother at her job after school, and he said he admired police officers and trusted Hurrell.

In his lawsuit, the man said Hurrell repeatedly asked his mother to allow her son to come to his home and help clean beneath the deck around his above-ground pool. He said Hurrell used his authority as the woman's supervisor when making those requests.

His mother agreed to send her son to his home, and the man said he agreed to do it, because he "idolized police officers" and trusted Hurrell after meeting him several times at Secaucus Police headquarters.

The lawsuit contains graphic details about what the man says occurred:

He said after he arrived at Hurrell’s home and worked beneath the deck for several hours, clearing leaves, garbage and debris, Hurrell told him to go inside and take a shower because he was "dirty."

He said Hurrell told him to go into a room that had a desktop computer, where pornographic material was displayed. Hurrell then insisted the boy take a shower. The man says Hurrell brought him into his bedroom, instructed him to undress and then molested him. He then ordered the boy to take a shower and further molested him in the bathroom, the suit alleges.

He said Hurrell then drove him marching band practice at Secaucus High School.

The man told his mother and others about the alleged abuse when he was 18 years old. He said he was deeply ashamed to tell anyone about it before then, and he said in his lawsuit he was also terrified of Hurrell and the authority over both him and his mother.

He said he suffered severe psychological trauma, anxiety, disordered eating, diminished self-worth, and long-lasting emotional injuries due to Hurrell's alleged sexual abuse.

The man is currently a police officer in New Jersey.

"Despite the trauma inflicted upon him, plaintiff ultimately fulfilled his childhood aspiration of becoming a police officer and is currently employed as a police officer (redacted to protect the man's privacy)," his lawsuit read.

In addition to suing Hurrell for sexual battery and child sexual abuse, his lawyers argue the town of Secaucus and Secaucus Police Dept. are "vicariously liable" (a legal term) because Hurrell used the authority granted to him as a police supervisor to groom the child and gain access to him. The suit also alleges the department failed to implement safeguards to protect minors from inappropriate interactions with officers.

The man is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and other relief. He is represented by two lawyers, Olivia Clancy, a lawyer with Clancy Fleishman law firm in New York City, and Michael Kalmus, a lawyer with an office in West Orange.

"This is a civil matter and the allegation did not involve an on-duty police officer," Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said Friday. "The incident predates me and I cannot comment on potential litigation, since the town has not been formally served."

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