MINNESOTA
Austin Daily Herald
By Trey Mewes
An Austin priest admitted taking a nude photo of a teenage boy when he served in Austin around 1978 and also admitted to sexually abusing a minor male a few years later, according to information released by the Diocese of Winona.
The diocese released details Monday about 14 priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children, calling their decision an effort to be transparent and promote healing.
One of the 14 was Jack Krough, 64, who was ordained in 1975 and began serving at Austin’s St. Augustine Catholic Church and Pacelli Catholic Schools the next year. Krough transferred to Winona in 1980, but not before he allegedly sexually abused a minor male.
In 1993, Krough admitted he took a photo found in his home of a nude 16-year-old back in 1978 when he served in Austin. He was sent to St. Luke’s Institute for an assessment but was returned to the ministry in New Richland and Waldorf, Minn.
Krough admitted to sexually abusing a minor between 1979 and 1981, after someone reported the crime to the diocese in 1997. Krough was removed from ministry at St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Austin and Our Lady of Loretto in Brownsdale and taken to St. Luke’s for treatment. He resigned from the ministry in 2002, after he was confronted in another incident involving inappropriate touching.
As of December, Krough lived in Barron, Wis.
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