BishopAccountability.org
	Former Priest Reports to Jail to Serve Contempt Sentence By Brian Krans The Leader January 9, 2008 http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=369678 Defrocked Davenport priest James Janssen began Wednesday serving his 180-day jail sentence for contempt of court in Scott County. Dressed casually and carrying a bag of medications and $20, the 86-year-old turned himself into the Scott County Jail just before the 10 a.m. deadline. Tuesday, Scott County Chief Judge Bobbi Alpers sentenced the former priest to six months in jail after she found him in contempt of court for failing to produce $80,000 in savings bonds. He allegedly hid his money that is set to go to his nephew, James Wells, as part of a $1.89 million civil judgment handed down in a sexual abuse case in 2005. Since ordered to provide the court with a list of his assets, Mr. Janssen has been audited by an accountant. During that process, at least $80,000 worth of savings bonds were reported unaccounted for. Attorney Craig Levien, who represented Mr. Janssen's nephew and numerous other alleged sexual abuse victims of Catholic priests, said they discovered more than $700,000 in bonds belonging to Mr. Janssen. Facing jail time, Mr. Janssen only provided a handwritten copy of a list of bond numbers that totaled $80,000. He testified that he found the list, but couldn't recall where the original note was. Calling his efforts "too little, too late" Judge Alpers sentenced Mr. Janssen to the maximum allowed jail time. It's the first time Mr. Janssen has been jailed. While named a defendant in numerous civil sexual abuse lawsuits, he's never been criminally charged. According to testimony in Mr. Wells' case, Mr. Janssen began selling his government bonds as soon as he heard of the first lawsuit filed against him that alleged he sexually abused altar boys. In 2003, Mr. Wells sued Mr. Janssen, who was an active priest from 1948 to 1990, claiming he had been sexually molested by his uncle more than 40 years ago. Mr. Janssen was defrocked in 2004. Other civil cases involving Mr. Janssen's alleged conduct with other victims have been settled out of court. Often while testifying, Mr. Janssen said he wrote most of the bonds over to his sister, Dorothy Janssen, whom he currently lives with. In a separate lawsuit filed by Mr. Wells against Ms. Janssen, Scott County Judge Mary Howes ruled Tuesday that evidence shows Ms. Janssen helped her brother hide assets while he faced other sexual abuse lawsuits. According to prior testimony, Mr. Janssen got wind of the lawsuit when a newspaper story first reported it May 22, 2003. The next day, Mr. Janssen and his sister, Dorothy Janssen, began cashing in bonds they held jointly totaling more than $712,000. Mr. Janssen said he cashed in the bonds on the advice of his former attorney. After cashing in the bonds, he and his sister didn't immediately cash the checks, holding some for as long as 1 years, Mr. Janssen said in previous testimony. Mr. Janssen's attorney, J.E. 'Mike' Tobey III, has said he'll attempt to have Mr. Janssen released from jail while the Iowa Court of Appeals reviews the case. Contact: bkrans@qconline.com
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