MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 11/06/2013
A former Nativity of Our Lord priest who became sexually involved with a 21-year-old penitent is not entitled to a new trial, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled.
The high court upheld the state’s clergy sex statute, which makes it a felony for a priest or minister to have sexual contact with a person “during the course of a meeting in which the (victim) sought or received religious or spiritual advice, aid, or comfort from the (clergy member) in private.”
Rev. Christopher Wenthe was convicted in a Ramsey County District Court trial on one count of criminal sexual conduct.
He admitted during trial that he had sex with a 21-year-old member of his parish. She testified that she told Wenthe about her struggles with an eating disorder and previous sexual abuse. He agreed to serve as her confessor. She said Wenthe exploited her vulnerability and her trust in him as a priest.
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