Second Woman Sues Crookston Diocese over Sex Abuse Claims Involving Priest on Loan from India

By Rose French
Star Tribune
June 14, 2012

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/159069325.html

A Catholic priest on loan from India who served in the Diocese of Crookston is accused in a lawsuit filed Wednesday of sexually abusing a minor girl in 2005.

The plaintiff in the new suit, identified as Jane Doe 122, is the second woman to sue the diocese over claims of abuse by the Rev. Joseph Jeyapaul. The priest was serving at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Greenbush when the alleged abuse occurred.

Attorney Jeff Anderson, who’s represented hundreds of victims in clergy sex abuse cases, announced the lawsuit filed in Roseau County court at a news conference Thursday at his law offices in St. Paul.

Anderson said Jane Doe was in her mid-teens at the time of the abuse, which occurred at the church rectory. She has also reported the charges to police authorities in Roseau County, Anderson said.

The Diocese of Crookston could not immediately be reached for comment about the lawsuit on Thursday.

In September, Megan Peterson, now 22, settled a civil lawsuit against the diocese for $750,000 and provisions that required the diocese to warn Catholics in India of Jeyapaul’s history and provide child protection and outreach to other potential victims in the diocese.

Peterson attended the news conference and spoke in support of Jane Doe. She also recounted being abused by Jeypaul in 2005 in the church confessional.

Jeyapaul returned to India before criminal charges involving Peterson’s case were filed in 2006. He has denied the allegations and had been in active ministry in India working with children for years, according to reports there and here.

In March, Jeyapaul was arrested in India and appeared before a court in New Delhi on the sex abuse charges. He remains incarcerated in the country and awaits extradition to Minnesota to face abuse charges, Anderson said.

Jeff Anderson and Megan Peterson