MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio
by Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio
November 26, 2013
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Top officials at the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have said they didn’t know about sexual misconduct by the pastor at the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood until this year, but a document obtained by MPR News shows that a church official flagged the priest for sexual misconduct a decade ago.
The internal church document says that the Rev. Mark Huberty’s misconduct involved women and that he remains an active priest. It does not include any other information. The archdiocese’s code of conduct forbids sexual contact by priests.
Hennepin County prosecutors charged Huberty earlier this month with criminal sexual conduct for an alleged sexual relationship with a woman under his pastoral care from January to April of this year. The investigation began in May when the woman reported the alleged sexual contact to Maplewood police. It’s illegal in Minnesota for priests to have sexual contact with anyone under their pastoral care.
“The complaint was made by the woman’s husband over a decade ago.,” Huberty’s attorney, Paul Engh, said. “When interviewed thereafter, the parishioner indicated that nothing inappropriate had occurred between her and Father Huberty. The matter was thus closed.”
Huberty did not immediately return calls for comment. A spokesman for the archdiocese hasn’t responded to questions about whether officials reported the past allegations to police.
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