MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
By Tad Vezner
tvezner@pioneerpress.com
Posted: 06/05/2013
A man who claims he was sexually abused by a now-deceased St. Paul priest has sued the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
The man, a former Minnesotan who now lives in California and is identified only as “John Doe 100,” alleges that beginning in 1971 he was molested by the Rev. Thomas S. Stitts. Stitts was then serving at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in St. Paul, according to the suit.
A law approved this year by the Minnesota Legislature and signed last month by Gov. Mark Dayton lifts a six-year civil statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse.
The suit, filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court, alleges that Stitts previously engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with boys at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Edina and Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Hastings. It alleges the archdiocese knew or should have known of the abuse, was negligent in supervising Stitts and had a pattern of harboring child abusers.
The suit alleges the archdiocese continues to conceal details of sexual assaults committed by priests.
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