The Hackettstown church has denied the allegations initially made by the secretary there.
The retired pastor of a Warren County church who faces criminal charges for allegedly taking illicit photos of a co-worker may have had more victims, according to a civil lawsuit filed last fall.
The Rev. Terry Herzberg, 66, the former pastor of Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Hackettstown, turned himself in Thursday at the county courthouse in Belvidere, where he was charged with invasion of privacy and attempted invasion of privacy.
Because he has no prior criminal history, he was released after a brief hearing on the condition he have no contact with the victim.
A church secretary has accused Herzberg, a resident of Tannersville in Pennsylvania's Monroe County, of attempting to photograph and record video up her skirt between 2013 and 2016.
Pastor turns himself in at court
But the civil suit -- filed in November in Morris County, where the plaintiff resides, and obtained Friday by lehighvalleylive.com -- claims that harassment began earlier and was more extensive, extending to include other victims.
Terry Herzberg (Lehighvalleylive.com file photo) The lawsuit, filed by attorney John McDonnell of Washington, names both Herzberg and the church as defendants. It seeks lost pay, economic injury and other, unspecified damages.
In a response filed in January, the church's attorney, Darren DelSardo of Woodland Park, N.J., denies all the charges and seeks dismissal. The church did not return calls Thursday and Friday seeking comment on the civil and criminal cases.
Herzberg and his wife came to Hackettstown in 2008 from Fair Lawn, N.J., where he served as pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church for 10 years. He previously served parishes in Flemington; Albany, Ga.; and Garden City, Kan. He received his master's in divinity in 1976 from Christ Seminary in St. Louis.
The victim -- whom lehighvalleylive.com is not identifying due to the nature of the charges -- was hired as an administrative assistant in 2010, according to the lawsuit. Herzberg was the highest-ranking employee at the church and her immediate supervisor, and the suit says they often worked alone.
At various times, the lawsuit claims, Herzberg would make comments to the secretary about her appearance and at one point gave her a card that said she was "sexy." He allegedly insisted on being close to her and reportedly became jealous when he learned the secretary and a male member of the congregation were alone as the man did maintenance at the office.
N.J. suspends teacher accused of sex assault
In May 2016, the lawsuit says, the reverend twice tried to take pictures of the woman's chest while he stood behind her as she looked up a file on the computer. The following month, as she stood in her office, Herzberg twice allegedly stooped behind her with a camera to get shots from under her skirt.
He refused to give her the camera and she immediately left and contacted her husband and church officials, the lawsuit says. She gave a statement that day to Hackettstown police.
Retired Rev. Terry Herzberg arrives in handcuffs for a hearing May 18, 2017, at the Warren County Court House. (Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com) Officers asked her to call Herzberg.
"During the plaintiff's telephone conversation with Herzberg," the lawsuit states, "he admitted, among other things, taking photographs underneath her skirt and stated he had done it to others."
There has been no action on the civil front since the church's response was filed January.
The criminal case will proceed with a hearing scheduled June 22.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Ben Horowitz and lehighvalleylive.com staff writer Pamela Sroka-Holzmann contributed to this report.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.