ST. LOUIS (MO)
KSDK Channel 5 [St. Louis, MO]
July 24, 2024
By Kelsi Anderson
[See also the text of the lawsuit.]
Twenty-five plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial, alleging the Archdiocese failed to protect them and covered up sexual abuse they endured as children.
A lawsuit filed Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court accuses the Archdiocese of St. Louis of knowingly enabling and covering up the sexual abuse of minors by its clergy members for decades.
The lawsuit lists 25 plaintiffs, identified by initials only, and names as defendants the Archdiocese, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski and an unnamed priest identified as “John Doe I.” The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Bailey & Glasser LLC, Levy Konisberg LLP, and Randles Mata LLC.
Todd Mathews, an attorney with Bailey & Glasser, said in an email that he was in the process of filing similar lawsuits on behalf of about 35 more plaintiffs for alleged abuse that occurred in St. Louis, Jefferson, Franklin and St. Charles counties.
The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and asking for compensatory, statutory, punitive and other damages for 10 counts alleged in the suit:
- childhood sexual abuse;
- intentional failure to supervise clergy;
- negligent failure to supervise children and report sexual abuse;
- negligence per se;
- breach of special relationship/duty;
- fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud;
- fraudulent misrepresentation;
- constructive fraud;
- intentional infliction of emotional distress;
- intentional infliction of emotional distress (alleged against John Doe I);
- sexual abuse (alleged against John Doe I); and
- aiding and abetting.
“Defendants have covered up and concealed their own intentional misconduct in enabling this sexual abuse by exploiting the trusting and confidential relationship the defendants encouraged and established with plaintiffs while they were impressionable young children,” the lawsuit stated. “This shameless cover-up spanned decades and allowed various clergy and other employees to access and sexually abuse numerous children, including plaintiffs, and hindered plaintiffs from discovering their causes of action against the defendants for their negligent and intentional conduct.”
The St. Louis Archdiocese is also accused of regularly transferring employees who committed abuse to different locations within the Archdiocese or the Catholic Church, or sending them away for treatment “before returning them to unsupervised access to children,” the lawsuit said.
The suit laid out the disturbing and harrowing stories of alleged sexual abuse that the plaintiffs, who are now adults living in Missouri and elsewhere, endured as children.
Several priests were named in the suit, many of whom received convictions for sexual abuse or child pornography or were the subject of civil suits citing sexual abuse. The lawsuit detailed how the archdiocese responded to each priest’s case, alleging they repeatedly knowingly covered up details and failed to take action to protect children.
The priest listed as defendant “John Doe I” was a priest at St. Ambrose Church when the lawsuit alleges he abused one of the plaintiffs. According to the lawsuit, the victim doesn’t currently know the priest’s full identity and the lawsuit will add his name once it is confirmed.
Several of the other plaintiffs also did not know their abuser’s full names, often only knowing them as “Father (first name)” when they were children. Their full identities were expected to be learned during the course of discovery, the lawsuit said.
An after-hours email sent to spokespeople for the Archdiocese was not immediately returned.