Lawsuit Alleging Sex Abuse by St. John's Priest to be Filed Monday

By Megan Stewart
KSTP
May 18, 2014

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3440463.shtml

Another lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a clergy member is expected to be filed Monday in Stearns County.

In the suit, two victims allege they were abused by a St. Joseph monk at a cabin in Northern Minnesota during the 1970s, according to filing lawyers Jeff Anderson and Associates. The lawsuit will name Richard Eckroth, the Order of St. Benedict and St. John's Abbey, Anderson said.

Eckroth's name was released in January in the Diocese of St. Cloud's list of priests credibly accused of sexually abusing minors. He was said to have worked at St. Benedict High School, St. Joseph; St. Augustine, St. Cloud; Seven Dolors, Albany; St. Raphael’s Convent, St. Cloud; St. Scholastica Convent, St. Cloud.

The diocese said Eckroth currently lives in Collegeville, Minnesota.

Also on on Monday at a news conference, Anderson will release files of five St. John's monks that worked in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who have been accused of sexually abusing children.

The files were obtained as part of a lawsuit filed in Ramsey County involving the Archdiocese, the Diocese of Winona, and Father Thomas Adamson, Anderson said.