Ramsey County will not prosecute suspect accused of clergy abuse at New Brighton church

Lillie News
February 18, 2015

http://eastsidereviewnews.com/articles/2015/02/18/ramsey-county-will-not-prosecute-suspect-accused-clergy-abuse-new-brighton#.VOTFVPnF-So

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office announced Feb. 11 that it would not pursue criminal charges relating to allegations of criminal sexual conduct alleged to have taken place at Saint John the Baptist Parish School in New Brighton in the early 1990s due to lack of evidence.

According to a report from Assistant County Attorney and Criminal Division Director Richard Dusterhoft, in the fall of 2006 the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis received an email alleging sexual abuse that took place in the sacristy at Saint John the Baptist Parish School, taking place between 1992 and 1994.

On Sept. 29, 2006, the Archdiocese reported the allegations to the New Brighton Public Safety, though New Brighton police closed the case little more than a week later on Oct. 6 because they could not contact the complainant, who lived abroad, the report says.

Later that month, the Archdiocese hired an independent firm to investigate the allegations, the report says. A lengthy document created by the firm dated March 20, 2007, stated it was unlikely the abuse could have taken place in the manner described by the complainant because of the layout of the sacristy, a lack of witnesses and a lack of opportunity for the suspect.

On May 21, 2013, the complainant contacted New Brighton police and said memories of the alleged abuse had come back in "a flood," the report says. In a signed affidavit, the complainant described the abuse, including forced touching and oral penetration.

New Brighton turned the case over to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office because of a conflict of interest, the report says, and by June 6, 2013, RCSO declined to pursue the case because it was concluded the statute of limitations had run out.

Following a request from County Attorney John Choi for Dusterhoft to review all allegations of clergy abuse dating back to 2000, the allegations were once again reviewed, the report says. It was also found that the alleged suspect had left Minnesota before the statute of limitations expired, stopping the clock.

RSCO investigators interviewed the suspect in person in the state where he now lives, in March 2014. The suspect cooperated and denied the allegations, the report says, and in June 2014, the suspect was flown to St. Paul and interviewed once more.

The complainant provided a list of 12 names of other people who could have been victimized or witnessed abuse, the report says, and the nine who could be found to be interviewed neither corroborated the allegations nor provided additional evidence.

Finishing the report, Dusterhoft writes, "I do not believe the allegations of the complainant can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt without additional evidence."

On Jan. 8, Choi approved the decision not to pursue prosecution in this case and another case of alleged clergy abuse at a St. Paul church dating to the late ’70s and early ’80s, and the alleged victims of the abuse were notified of the decision.

The decision was announced when investigators felt comfortable with releasing investigation files related to the cases, the report says. Ramsey County Attorney's Office officials stressed that investigations into allegations of clergy abuse within the Archdiocese are ongoing.

The Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in January in order to better manage expected settlement payments to victims of abuse.