5 Eyewitness News Morning Hibbing Priest Charged with Sexual Misconduct with 3 Minors

KSTP
May 7, 2015

http://kstp.com/article/stories/s3788659.shtml

Twenty-nine-year-old Brian Michael Lederer

A Hibbing priest is charged with five felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, KSTP sister-station WDIO reports.

Twenty-nine-year-old Brian Michael Lederer was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon by the Hibbing Police Department and is being held in the St. Louis County Jail.

Formal charges were filed on Thursday, listing three victims. Two of the victims were under 13 years old, and one was under 16.

Lederer faces three counts of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree, and two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree, which also list him as a being in a position of authority over the complainant.

The Diocese of Duluth says Lederer is a parochial vicar at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Hibbing. The sign at Immaculate Conception Church in Hibbing also lists him as being an associate pastor at that church.

"While the circumstances leading to his arrest are currently unknown to us and while we believe (the man) is entitled to the presumption of innocence, we take this development very seriously and are monitoring it closely," the diocese said in a statement.

"We will cooperate fully with civil authorities in any investigation and, as more facts emerge in this case, we will uphold our responsibilities to civil law, to church law and under our policies and procedures for the protection of young people. We continue to pray for all those affected by sexual abuse and urge anyone who has been a victim of it to come forward to church authorities and to civil authorities," the statement said.

Lederer appeared in court at 2 p.m. on Thursday. The Diocese said Lederer was ordained in June 2012.