A teacher accused of sexually abusing students at Catholic schools in Minnesota during the 1970s taught at Pacelli High School, according to the teaching order that administered the school at the time.
Brother Francis Carr, Provincial Superior of the Christian Brothers of the Midwest, said today that Brother Raimond Rose, an ordained member of the Roman Catholic order, worked at the school from 1969 to 1970.
A lawsuit filed in Ramsey County, Minn. this spring against the Christian Brothers of Midwest, The Christian Brothers of Minnesota, and Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minn., claims Rose sexually abused a student in 1970 while employed by the order. In the suit, the plaintiff, named only as John Doe 128, claims that when he was 15 or 16 years old, Rose sexually abused him while the two were at Dunrovin Christian Brothers Retreat Center in St. Croix, Minn.
The lawsuit claims the plaintiff was defrauded by the Christian Brothers, alleging that Christian Brothers officials learned in 1966 that Rose had sexually abused a student at De La Salle High School in Minneapolis, but took “no steps to investigate the misconduct or prevent further sexual abuse by Rose.”
Stevens Point Area Catholic Schools President Jim Dyer said today that the organization could neither confirm nor deny that Rose ever taught at Pacelli High School, but that it is still investigating the matter. The organization also issued a written statement, asking anyone with a complaint to contact the school directly.
“Pacelli High School takes child safety seriously,” the statement reads. “If anyone has a legitimate complaint, they are encouraged to use the Pacelli procedures where complaints can be fairly and appropriately addressed.”
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a group that counsels people who have been sexually abused by clergy, held a news conference in front of Pacelli on Monday to encourage anyone who may have been abused by Rose during his time at the school to come forward. Flanked by two priest-abuse victims, Bob Schwiderski, Minnesota Director of SNAP, also asked school officials to reach out to potential victims.
“The Christian Brothers had prior knowledge of the sex crimes of Raimond Rose before they quietly picked him up and dropped him on the unsuspecting families and children in Wisconsin,” Schwiderski said. “We are asking those that were abused or know of sexual abuse by Raimond Rose, here or any place else in Wisconsin, to dial 911 and report it. We also encourage those that may have been sexually abused by Raimond Rose to seek legal advice.”
For more on this story see the Tuesday edition of the Stevens Point Journal or online at www.stevenspointjournal.com.