Leaders of the Diocese of St. Cloud and St. John\u2019s Abbey haven\u2019t done enough to protect children or other potential victims from clergy who are credibly accused of sex abuse and living in the community, alleged abuse victims and their attorneys said Monday.<\/p>\n
Attorneys Jeff Anderson and Michael Bryant, their clients and advocates spoke at a news conference at the Bradshaw & Bryant law offices in Waite Park.<\/p>\n
They disputed recent claims by St. Cloud diocesan and St. John\u2019s Abbey officials that they have disclosed all known names of clergy members with credible accusations of abuse.<\/p>\n
They also emphasized what they described as the threat posed by such clergy living at St. John\u2019s Abbey and elsewhere in Central Minnesota. Fourteen credibly accused offenders now live at the abbey, Anderson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as there\u2019s a monk who is a sex offender that\u2019s on campus at St. John\u2019s, those kids are not going to be safe,\u201d said Patrick Wall, a former St. John\u2019s monk who now works for Anderson.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for St. John\u2019s Abbey, Brother Aelred Senna, declined to immediately respond to Monday. Senna said the abbey likely would respond at a later date.<\/p>\n
At the press conference, the attorneys and alleged victims specifically addressed comments by St. Cloud Bishop Donald Kettler and St. John\u2019s Abbot John Klassen to the Times Editorial Board last month. The interview was recorded on video and streamed on the Times website.<\/p>\n
Kettler and Klassen told the editorial board they\u2019ve released all known names of members of their orders who are credibly accused of abuse.<\/p>\n
They also said they\u2019re confident children are safe at St. John\u2019s Preparatory School and other places near where credibly accused clergy offenders now live. Klassen said a lack of substantiated abuse allegations in recent years demonstrates the efficacy of steps taken by the abbey to protect children, such as risk assessments of offending monks.<\/p>\n
Anderson and Bryant pushed back against those statements at Tuesday\u2019s news conference. They were joined by Wall, two alleged victims of clergy sex abuse, Troy Bramlage and Bob Ethan, and the director of the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center, Peggy LaDue.<\/p>\n
Wall questioned the effectiveness of risk assessments of alleged offenders, saying it\u2019s difficult to predict when and where some will re-offend.<\/p>\n
Anderson said interviews with victims and other information assembled by he and others shows the abbey hasn\u2019t yet released all the names of credibly accused clergy offenders in their order. Anderson also said he has serious questions about the completeness of the diocese\u2019s offender list.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that there\u2019s more names out there,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cWe expect that more names will come out. And it\u2019s individuals that are alive, individuals that we\u2019re finding out are in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anderson and others at the press conference called on the diocese and abbey to release additional information, including their internal files, on the alleged offenders.<\/p>\n
They also said there should be public scrutiny of diocesan or abbey safety plans to protect children from alleged offenders living at St. John\u2019s Abbey or elsewhere in the community. LaDue says she\u2019d like to review the experts and sources for safety plans adopted by the abbey and diocese.<\/p>\n
Anderson also invited Kettler and Klassen to participate in a public forum on clergy abuse at a date and location to be determined. The forum would include alleged abuse victims and abuse experts, Anderson said.<\/p>\n
Anderson and others had planned to show a video at the press conference of a deposition given last year by the Rev. Allen Tarlton, a St. John\u2019s Abbey priest, in an abuse lawsuit against him. Bramlage says Tarlton sexually assaulted him at St. John\u2019s in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
But the video wasn\u2019t aired after a judge issued a court order moments before the news conference, requiring the video and transcript of Tarlton\u2019s deposition be kept sealed. The order was issued in response to an emergency motion filed by Tarlton\u2019s attorney Sunday, asking that the deposition not be made public.<\/p>\n
Bramlage said he watched the video of Tarlton\u2019s deposition, and it was painful. He said he\u2019s particularly concerned that Tarlton remains in a place where he might gain access to children again.<\/p>\n
A statement from an attorney for Tarlton, Robert Stich, said the protective order was sought to prevent a potential jury pool for Tarlton from being tainted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not believe that lawsuits should be litigated in the media or at a press conference,\u201d Stich wrote.<\/p>\n
View Entire Article and Comments\u2026 Here<\/a><\/p>\n Lawyers for abuse victims want diocese, abbey to release more information Leaders of the Diocese of St. Cloud and St. John\u2019s Abbey haven\u2019t done enough to protect children or other potential victims from clergy who are credibly accused of sex abuse and living in the community, alleged abuse victims and their … Continue reading
\nSt. Cloud Times
\nFebruary 3, 2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"