Gilbert (Allen) Tarlton

Father Allen Tarlton, OSB professed monastic vows in 1949 and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1955. As a Benedictine monk and priest of the Order of Saint Benedict in Collegeville, Minnesota, Father Tarlton began his teaching career at Saint John’s Preparatory School. He also taught English at St. John’s University and St. Augustine’s College in Nassau, Bahamas. He served pastorally at Saint Mark’s Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and as the Abbey’s guestmaster, oblate director, and secretary of the monastic chapter.

Father Tarlton is included on the official list released by the St. John’s Abbey on December 19, 2013 of clergy members who have been credibly accused of child sexual abuse.

The following is a summary of the parishes in which Father Tarlton served:

  • 1956 – 1964: St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, MN
  • 1965 – 1969: Saint Augustine’s Priory and College, Fox Hill, Nassau, Bahamas
  • 1969 – 1970: Saint Marks, Cincinnati, OH
  • 1970 – 1971: Saint Martin De Porred, Lincoln Heights, OH
  • 1971 – 1972: The Diocese of Cincinnati, OH
  • 1973 – 2012: St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, MN

Abbot Baldwin Dworschak first received information that Father Allen Tarlton had sexually abused two St. John’s Prep students in 1958. The Abbot then removed Father Tarlton from the prep school reassigning him to St. John’s University. During the summer of 1960, Father Tarlton was sent for psychiatric treatment in Rochester, Minnesota. He was then assigned to St. Joseph’s Parish in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis where he was to continue his education by attending the University of Minnesota. In 1965, the Abbot then sent Father Tarlton to the Seton Psychiatric Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland where he was in residence for 23 months under the care of Dr. Leo Bartemeier, M.D.

After Seton, Father Tarlton was assigned to Saint Augustine’s Priory and College in Nassau, Bahamas. After an altercation with a teacher at the College, St. John’s Abbey granted Father Tarlton a leave of absence.

From 1968-1979, Abbot John Eidenschink allowed Father Allen Tarlton to work in several schools, cities and the Archdioceses of Cincinnati and Louisville under various names, including:

· Gilbertus Tarlton

· Gilbert Tarlton

· Alanus Tarlton

· Allen Paul Tarlton

· Allen Berry

Other names possibly affiliated with Father Tarlton include: Huggy Bear, Allen Tarleton, or Allan Tarlton.

In 1979, Abbot Jerome Theisen, OSB learned that Father Tarlton had sexually abused another minor. The Abbot sent Father Tarlton to Hazelden, Saint Cloud Hospital and St. Michael’s community of the Servants of the Paraclete in Missouri. Father Tarlton later returned to Saint John’s Prep but was then sent to Saint Luke Institute for evaluation and treatment. Father Tarlton was discharged in 1983, brought back to St. John’s Prep, and assigned to the care of Father John Klassen and Father Roman Paur.

Father Tarlton continued to work without restriction until civil lawsuits were filed in 1992. From 1992 to 2002, Father Tarlton worked in various positions on St. John’s campus.

In 2002, Abbot John Klassen informed the Monastic Community that Father Tarlton was one of the monks on restriction. A letter sent to alumni in 2011 named Father Tarlton as one of the 10 monks at Saint John’s on restriction.

Survivor Edward Troy Bramlage bravely filed a lawsuit for sexual abuse by Father Tarlton while he was a young boy at St. John’s Preparatory School and publicly spoke about his abuse and experience during a press conference in St. Cloud, MN on June 5, 2013. The lawsuit names the Order of St. Benedict which includes St. John’s Abbey and St. John’s Prep School, as well as Father Allen Tarlton.

Read more about Tarlton and the current lawsuit against him here.