Prosecutors in Minnesota filed criminal charges on Friday against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, accusing church leaders of mishandling repeated complaints of sexual abuse by a priest.
The charges and accompanying civil petition, announced by the Ramsey County prosecutor, John J. Choi, are a sweeping condemnation of the archdiocese and how its leaders have handled sex abuse allegations.
“Today, we are alleging a disturbing institutional and systemic pattern of behavior committed by the highest levels of leadership of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis over the course of decades,” Mr. Choi said in a statement.
Though there have been several allegations of sexual abuse over the years by priests in the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Friday’s charges focus on the church’s handling of “numerous and repeated reports of troubling conduct” by Curtis Wehmeyer, who was dismissed as a priest in March.
Mr. Wehmeyer, 50, was sentenced to five years in 2013 for criminal sexual conduct and possession of child pornography. He is in prison in Minnesota, and he has been charged with sex crimes in Wisconsin.
Civil cases against the archdiocese and priests have poured in since 2013, when the Minnesota Legislature passed the Child Victims Act, which opened a three-year window for filing lawsuits involving claims of sexual abuse that were beyond the legal statute of limitations.
David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said he was pleased to hear of the indictment, “but the credit goes to Minnesota lawmakers, not this prosecutor.”
“The Legislature,” Mr. Clohessy said, “opened the biggest window ever — three years — which has brought forward dozens and dozens of victims who’ve not just filed suits but also made police reports.”
In a statement in March announcing Mr. Wehmeyer’s dismissal from the priesthood, Archbishop John C. Nienstedt expressed support for sex abuse victims.
“I am deeply saddened and have been profoundly affected by the stories I continue to hear from victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse,” the archbishop said in March. “My focus, and the focus of the Archdiocese, is to do all we can to keep children safe while offering resources for help and healing.”
Messages left for Tom Halden, an archdiocese spokesman, were not immediately returned Friday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/06/u...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
The charges and accompanying civil petition, announced by the Ramsey County prosecutor, John J. Choi, are a sweeping condemnation of the archdiocese and how its leaders have handled sex abuse allegations.
“Today, we are alleging a disturbing institutional and systemic pattern of behavior committed by the highest levels of leadership of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis over the course of decades,” Mr. Choi said in a statement.
Though there have been several allegations of sexual abuse over the years by priests in the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Friday’s charges focus on the church’s handling of “numerous and repeated reports of troubling conduct” by Curtis Wehmeyer, who was dismissed as a priest in March.
Mr. Wehmeyer, 50, was sentenced to five years in 2013 for criminal sexual conduct and possession of child pornography. He is in prison in Minnesota, and he has been charged with sex crimes in Wisconsin.
Civil cases against the archdiocese and priests have poured in since 2013, when the Minnesota Legislature passed the Child Victims Act, which opened a three-year window for filing lawsuits involving claims of sexual abuse that were beyond the legal statute of limitations.
David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said he was pleased to hear of the indictment, “but the credit goes to Minnesota lawmakers, not this prosecutor.”
“The Legislature,” Mr. Clohessy said, “opened the biggest window ever — three years — which has brought forward dozens and dozens of victims who’ve not just filed suits but also made police reports.”
In a statement in March announcing Mr. Wehmeyer’s dismissal from the priesthood, Archbishop John C. Nienstedt expressed support for sex abuse victims.
“I am deeply saddened and have been profoundly affected by the stories I continue to hear from victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse,” the archbishop said in March. “My focus, and the focus of the Archdiocese, is to do all we can to keep children safe while offering resources for help and healing.”
Messages left for Tom Halden, an archdiocese spokesman, were not immediately returned Friday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/06/u...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
