April 30, 2005

Priest’s trial set for Monday

DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-City Times

By Todd Ruger

The trial on a Davenport man’s civil lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a former Catholic Diocese of Davenport priest will start Monday after last-minute settlement talks failed, the plaintiff’s attorney announced Friday afternoon.

Davenport attorney Craig Levien called area news media representatives to the Scott County Courthouse for a “statement given in open court” regarding the lawsuit and then had a video camera trained on the witness stand in a courtroom.

But Levien, who previously has said during court hearings that his client’s settlement offer asked James Janssen to admit to decades-old claims of sexual abuse, entered the courtroom alone and said, “The talks have been unsuccessful.

“The trial is scheduled and will commence Monday morning,” he added, referring to the lawsuit filed by James Wells.

Posted by kshaw at April 30, 2005 04:56 AM