STL priest abuse civil trial begins

KSDK
July 7, 2014

http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/2014/07/07/st-louis-priest-joseph-ross-trial-civil-lawsuit/12281035/

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A civil lawsuit against the Archdiocese of St. Louis and a former Catholic priest accused of sexual misconduct goes to trial Monday in a case that could reveal further details on hundreds of abuse complaints against church employees over decades.

A 22-year-old woman identified only as Jane Doe is accusing Joseph Ross of molesting her as a small girl when she attended St. Cronan Church between 1997 and 2001. It's one of only two child sexual abuse cases against the St. Louis archdiocese to go to trial without being dismissed our settled out of court.

The woman's lawyers hope to introduce evidence from other abuse complaints after the archdiocese was ordered to turn over records in those cases, but the judge has set limits on the use of that information.

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