As part of the recent settlement of the Doe 1 vs. Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and Diocese of Winona civil lawsuit, the once-secret priest file of Gilbert Gustafson was publicly released on October 27, 2014, which included many documents that have never been public.
In 1983, Gustafson was criminally convicted of sexually abusing a minor boy and was placed on probation for ten years. Following the conviction, Gustafson was allowed to remain working in the Archdiocese, collecting disability payments. One of Gustafson’s major projects was the revision and reissuance of the Archdiocese’s policy on sexual misconduct in 2000. Gustafson was monitored by the Archdiocese because of his conviction and prior history of sexually abusing minors and every year Gustafson’s monitoring report was signed by the Archbishop.
“There is a sad, painful, and sorrowful story told inside these documents,” stated Attorney Jeff Anderson. “Releasing this information today sheds light on the past so children and our communities can be better protected in the future.”
The entire priest file of Gilbert Gustafson and key documents are available below.