MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A Roman Catholic priest accused in a Nebraska lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy 20 years ago was placed on administrative leave Wednesday by the Jefferson City Diocese.
The Rev. Richard Colbert will remain on leave from St. Ann parish in Warsaw and Sts. Peter and Paul Mission in Cole Camp while the allegations in the lawsuit are investigated, diocesan officials said.
A diocese spokesman said officials there were unaware of the lawsuit filed Sept. 26 against Colbert until it was brought to their attention Tuesday. A victims advocacy group sent a letter Wednesday to Bishop John Gaydos to urge that Colbert be suspended immediately.
A lawsuit by Darren Boudreau, 34, of Cheyenne, Wyo., accuses Colbert of abusing him as a teenager at Omaha's Girls and Boys Town from about 1985 to 1989.