Maplewood Priest Mark Huberty Acquitted of Sexual Misconduct with Woman
By Elizabeth Mohr
After little more than two hours of deliberation, a Ramsey County jury Monday found the Rev. Mark Huberty not guilty of two counts of sexual misconduct. Huberty, 44, was accused of having a pastoral relationship that became sexual with a female parishioner. He was charged with fourth- and fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct. The first charge alleged he had sexual contact with the woman while providing spiritual aid or comfort in private. Under Minnesota law, that is a felony for a clergy member. When the verdicts were read aloud in the St. Paul courtroom, Huberty wept and hugged his lawyer. In a prepared statement, he said he was relieved. "I never understood why the prosecution pursued this so aggressively," the statement read. "A lot of unnecessary harm was caused to a lot of people, including the people of my parish and the complainant herself. Now it's time to heal." Huberty has been on leave from his post at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood since September 2013. "It's been a difficult year away," he said in his statement. "I'm looking forward to returning to active ministry as a priest." Bishop Andrew Cozzens, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said in a statement after the acquittal that the church had cooperated in the investigation and prosecution. "We did not go forward with our own internal review to preserve the integrity of the police investigation and the fairness of court proceedings," Cozzens said. "Rev. Huberty will remain on leave until the archdiocesan Ministerial Standards Board can complete an internal review of this matter." Supportive parish members were frequently in the courtroom during the trial. Cathy Dobihal, who testified for the defense, was there Monday with her husband, Charlie Dobihal. "I believed in his innocence from the very beginning," she said. Her husband added, "It's absolutely long overdue. Justice has finally been served." According to the charges, Huberty had a friendship with a woman from his parish that began when she reached out after her brother's death, but it became sexual over time. The defense argued that Huberty was not providing religious or spiritual guidance when the relationship became intimate. The pair's sexual encounters took place in Huberty's car, in the woman's home and on trips on his private plane (Huberty is a pilot), the woman said. There reportedly was intimate touching and heavy petting, but the pair did not have intercourse. The encounters began in January 2013 and continued until mid-April 2013, though the two continued to communicate. Emails from the woman to Huberty were an important part of the defense, which argued that the woman had aggressively pursued the relationship. After the trial, defense attorney Paul Engh said the woman's emails helped with Huberty's case. "The emails were inconsistent with the trial testimony," Engh said. "I think the email that indicates she wasn't a victim in the least (was most persuasive)." Engh called the ordeal "a misunderstanding between two adults" and said charges never should have been filed. Prosecuting attorney Therese Galatowitsch declined to comment. Elizabeth Mohr can be reached at 651-228-5162. Follow her at twitter.com/LizMohr. Contact: emohr@pioneerpress.com
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