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  Suit Says Order Has More Abusers
Pair Asks Crosiers to Release List of Names

By Steve Scott
Pioneer Press [Minnesota]
May 5, 2006

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/14504063.htm

Two Minnesota men who said they were sexually abused by members of a Catholic order of priests and brothers have sued the group, asking that it publicly identify all past offenders.

The Crosier Fathers and Brothers, who have a provincial headquarters in Shoreview, released a third-party audit four years ago that identified eight members of the order who had been credibly accused of molesting a minor. The Crosiers said all such offenders had been removed from public ministry.

But the suit filed Thursday in Ramsey County District Court said more molesters have since become known and that the Crosiers should identify them.

"We've identified 14," said attorney Jeff Anderson, representing the two men in Thursday's court action. "If we know of that many, there have to be so many out there."

A spokesman for the Crosiers said the order needed to review the suit before commenting in detail.

"Obviously, we need to look at the information provided in that lawsuit, and quite frankly, we need to go back to the attorneys who were involved in our earlier investigation," Crosiers spokesman David Kostik said.

"We stand by the investigation that was conducted in 2002 as a very thorough investigation. We need to certainly review the information in this document and see what the correlation is between those two."

Kostik said that of the eight identified in 2002, five are still living.

One plaintiff, Mark Mallinger, 45, of St. Paul, said he was abused while a student at the Crosiers' high school seminary in Onamia, Minn., in the 1970s. The other, Charles Spahn, 47, of Sherburne County, said he was abused over five years while an altar boy in the parish in Onamia.

"The Crosiers have not been accountable for their actions," Mallinger said.

Anderson said the suit asks the Crosiers to identify all offenders and all dates and places that abuse occurred.

"We're asking that they come clean," Anderson said. "We want information only they have."

The Crosiers' misconduct policy and a summary of its 2002 investigation are online at www.crosiers.org, under "About Us."

Steve Scott may be reached at 651-228-5526 or sscott@pioneer press.com.

 
 

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