WASHINGTON – When the National Football League decides where to have the Super Bowl, it weighs everything from stadium seats to hotel rooms to transportation to security systems.Now, just as Minnesota is making its own bid for a Super Bowl, Sen. Amy Klobuchar wants the NFL to consider another selection element: local efforts to thwart the sex trafficking of minors that often accompany such major events.Making the fight against sex trafficking a specific consideration, if not a criterion, for picking a Super Bowl site is no modest proposal. In a recent meeting with senior NFL officials…
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Media Advisory January 31, 2014Survivors and Attorneys Respond to Abbott Klassen and Bishop Kettler’s Meeting with St. Cloud Times Editorial BoardSt. Cloud Open Discussion Monday, February 3, 2014Deposition video and transcript to be released of Father Allen Tarlton What: At an open discussion on Monday, February 3, 2014 in St. Cloud, attorneys Jeff Anderson and Mike Bryant, former monk Patrick Wall, two survivors and a sexual abuse expert will: • Discuss the practices of the Diocese of St. Cloud and St. John’s Abbey in response to the open discussion that was …
The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis has asked a judge to block depositions of top officials by attorneys representing an alleged sexual abuse victim.A plaintiff identified as John Doe 1 sued the archdiocese, the Diocese of Winona and former priest Thomas Adamson in May 2013, alleging sexual abuse by Adamson between 1976 and 1977.Adamson was assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas church in St. Paul Park at the time.The plaintiff’s attorneys, Jeff Anderson and Michael Finnegan, told the court in a motion filed Tuesday that the archdiocese had refused to answer questions and provide documents…
The Diocese of St. Cloud on Friday issued revisions to a Jan. 3 list of Central Minnesota clergy who had been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of minors..
Prosecution attorneys rested their case Thursday in the sexual assault trial of former Eau Claire pediatrician David Van de Loo at the Douglas County Courthouse in Superior.Eau Claire County District Attorney Gary King and Karie Cattanach, an assistant attorney general with the state Department of Justice, spent the last seven days presenting their witnesses.Van de Loo’s attorneys, Rich White of Eau Claire and Stephen Hurley of Madison, begin their case today with witness testimony.Van de Loo, 61, faces 16 sexual assault-related felony charges involving 15 former juvenile male patients at Mayo…
News ReleaseJanuary 30, 2014Landmark Lawsuit Involving Yeshiva University High School DismissedJudge dismisses 32 sexual abuse claims based on the statute of limitations(New York, NY) – Judge John G. Koeltl issued an order today dismissing a civil lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York on behalf of 32 former students of Yeshiva University High School in New York. The defendants named in the lawsuit were Yeshiva University, Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy-Yeshiva University High School for Boys, Rabbi Norman Lamm, Rabbi Robert Hirt and various members of the Board o…
Media AdvisoryJanuary 30, 2014St. Paul Press Conference TodayArchdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Father Curtis Wehmeyer Named in Civil Lawsuit Claims include deception, concealment, false representations, nuisance and destruction of evidence
The St. Cloud diocese and St. John’s Abbey have made public all of the names of priests and monks who have credible allegations against them of sexual misconduct with minors, according to the leaders of both institutions.Abbot John Klassen and Bishop Donald Kettler said Monday that they are confident they know of all allegations made against members of their orders to date and that the names of those credibly accused have been released.Klassen and Kettler met Monday with the St. Cloud Times Editorial Board, at the invitation of Executive Editor John Bodette, to discuss the ongoing clergy sex a…
The St. Cloud diocese and St. John’s Abbey have made public all of the names of priests and monks who have credible allegations against them of sexual misconduct with minors, according to the leaders of both institutions.Abbot John Klassen and Bishop Donald Kettler said Monday that they are confident they know of all allegations made against members of their orders to date and that the names of those credibly accused have been released…
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking to recover more than $2.6 million in legal fees from the firm now known as OneBeacon Insurance Co.On the same day, OneBeacon asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley to lift the automatic stay imposed by the bankruptcy on all litigation involving the archdiocese so the Wisconsin Supreme Court can decide once and for all whether the insurer is liable for the church’s actions related to the sexual abuse of children.Archdiocese spokesman Jerry Topczewski said it would oppose OneBeacon’s motion, saying “it d…
Media AdvisoryJanuary 22, 2014Hearing Today Could Lead to Release of Secret Documents from the Diocese of Duluth (Duluth, MN) – Today at 1:30PM at a hearing in St. Louis County District Court, the Diocese of Duluth will request Judge David M. Johnson dismiss the public nuisance count in a sexual abuse case involving Father John Nicholson. Today’s hearing could lead to the release of secret documents that detail what the Diocese of Duluth bishops and officials knew about these priests, when they knew it, and what they did in response to the abuse reports will be released. Su…
Media AdvisoryJanuary 20, 2014Chicago News Conference Tuesday, January 21Documents to be Released Tomorrow on 30 Archdiocese of Chicago Priests Credibly Accused of Sexually Abusing ChildrenSexual abuse survivors and their attorneys will share and discuss the documents turned over January 15, 2014 by the Archdiocese as part several settlement agreementsWhat: At a news conference tomorrow, January 21, 2014 in Chicago, sexual abuse attorneys Jeff Anderson and Marc Pearlman will:• Publicly release the files of 30 priests credibly accused of sexually abusing minors in the Archdioces…
Media AdvisoryJanuary 17, 2014Chicago News Conference Tuesday, January 21Documents to be Released Tuesday on 30 Archdiocese of Chicago Priests Accused of Sexually Abusing ChildrenSexual abuse survivors and their attorneys will share and discuss the documents turned over January 15, 2014 by the Archdiocese as part of a 2006 mediation agreementWhat: At a news conference on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 in Chicago, sexual abuse attorneys Jeff Anderson and Marc Pearlman will:• Publicly release the files of 30 priests credibly accused of sexually abusing minors in the Archdiocese …
A former Hakalau resident accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing five of his adopted sons has been located in Florida.Jay Ram was served with the lawsuit, filed in Honolulu Circuit Court in March, earlier this month after being tracked to the rural community of Odessa, outside Tampa, Fla., said Honolulu attorney Mark Gallagher, who is representing the plaintiffs. He had recently moved there from Saipan.Gallagher said Ram, now going by the name Jay Mizraha, is living with three other males, either teenagers or young men. The youngest is believed to be a teenager from Hilo, said Joelle Casteix…