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  Priest Accused

Wisconsin State Journal
March 11, 1993

A Milwaukee man has filed suit against the Rev. William J. Effinger of Sheboygan, accusing the Catholic priest of sexually assaulting him in 1979.

The suit, filed Tuesday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, contends the acts took place when the man was a minor and Effinger was a priest at St. Francis de Sales church in Lake Geneva.

Effinger, 60, was found guilty last month in Sheboygan County Circuit Court of the second-degree sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy. He has been placed on administrative leave by the Milwaukee archdiocese. (The following paragraphs were unpublished in second edition)

The suit said the archdiocese knew Effinger had alcohol and pedophiliac problems prior to 1979 but sought to disregard the rights and safety of the minor by failing to remove the priest from St. Francis.

The lawsuit contends the archdiocese had a duty to properly test and screen candidates for the priesthood to determine if they have an illness or sexual inclination that might cause them to be sexually attracted toward children.

An archdiocesan spokesman said he had not yet seen the suit and had no immediate comment.

 
 

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