SAINT PAUL (MN)
IntoAccount [Lawrence KS]
August 14, 2024
David Haas is currently attending the Church of St. Thomas Aquinas in St. Paul Park, Minnesota. For those who are unaware, Mr. Haas has been credibly accused by over fifty women of a wide range of sexually abusive behaviors. A number of these reports come from Mr. Haas’s tenure at St. Thomas Aquinas in the 1980s, during which he served as music director. These reports indicate that Mr. Haas used his position of authority to groom and sexually abuse multiple teenage girls and women at St. Thomas Aquinas. Into Account’s Oct. 2020 report on Mr. Haas’s abuse includes some of these allegations. See also in the New York Times.
Into Account has received new first-person reports about Mr. Haas’s current behavior at STA, ranging from suggestive comments to surprising women with unwanted touching. Some of this behavior falls squarely into Mr. Haas’s known patterns of predatory grooming. Multiple women have reported to us that they no longer feel safe attending services there due to Mr. Haas’s presence and behavior.
With this in mind, we call upon the leaders and congregation of St. Thomas Aquinas to please be aware of the safety risk that Mr. Haas continues to pose. Survivors and whistleblowers are welcome to reach out to Into Account through our online report form.