WKOW
December 6, 2011
http://www.wxow.com/story/16196035/jury-deliberating-fate-of-local-priest-accused-of-sexual-abuse
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MADISON (WKOW) -- A jury has found a Catholic priest not guilty of sexually assaulting a minor.
Father Joseph Gibbs Clauder was acquitted of second-degree sexual assault of a child.
Jurors returned the verdict around 11 p.m., about ten hours after they began deliberation.
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MADISON (WKOW) -- The fate of a Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting a minor is in the hands of a jury.
After five days of testimony, the trial of Father Joseph Gibbs Clauder ended around 1 p.m. Monday.
Clauder is facing a charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child, a Class C felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 40 years.
The 22 year-old alleged victim says Clauder touched her private area in her parent's home in 2004, when she was just 14.
Clauder's Attorney, Steve Eisenberg, used his closing argument to go through the victim's mental health history, further stating his case that she has a number of mental issues and actually has false memories that the abuse ever happened.
"A false memory is a real memory," said Eisenberg. "It is real memories that merge into one that did not actually take place and its dreams and fantasies and hallucinations."
But, Assistant District Attorney Bob Kaiser says the abuse undoubtedly did happen.
"She believes if she tells, she'll go to hell," said Kaiser. "But what does she have to tell about? She has to tell about something she feels guilty about, she feels blame for. She needs to know, before she can tell."
Father Clauder was a priest at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Monona until 1999.
That's when an adult woman came forward and reported that she'd had a sexual relationship with Clauder.
The Madison Catholic Diocese removed him from the parish at that time.
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