Priest Faces Criminal Charges after Being Accused of Having Sexual Relationship with Parishioner
By Stephanie Dickrell
A St. Cloud priest faces criminal charges on suspicion of engaging in a sexual relationship with a parishioner. The Rev. Anthony Oelrich, 51, was charged with criminal sexual conduct in the third degree. The state statue makes it a crime for a member of clergy to engage in a sexual relationship with someone they are counseling spiritually or religiously. St. Cloud police arrested Oelrich Tuesday morning and he appeared in court Wednesday. Oelrich has worked as a priest in the Diocese of St. Cloud since 1992 and until Wednesday was the priest assigned to Christ Church Newman Center. According to the criminal complaint, an adult woman went to Oelrich for spiritual guidance and told him during confession in December 2013 about a past relationship that included sexual abuse. Oelrich later reached out and asked the woman further questions about the abuse. She told Oelrich she had become suicidal and Oelrich consoled her. He also told the woman to contact him whenever she felt the need to talk to her prior abuser. In one instance, according to the criminal complaint, she described receiving repeated calls from her prior abuser while she and Oelrich were together and Oelrich told her to answer the phone. Oelrich then exposed himself and said she "needed something for her hands," according to the criminal complaint. The victim told Oelrich that what he did scared her, and he responded by saying he would never have sex with her. In a later incident, according to the criminal complaint, they were in a car when Oelrich unbuckled his pants and told the victim to perform sexual acts on him, which she did. The victim, who said she had insomnia, also said Oelrich would "come to her home and tuck her into bed," according to the criminal complaint. He would also, she said, sleep with her in the bed until 1-2 a.m. In January 2014, according to the complaint, the victim was invited to the rectory. She had dinner and played cards with Oelrich, who suggested they have intercourse. The victim said intercourse occurred on multiple days until April of 2014. During the period Oelrich was having intercourse with the victim, he was also seeing her for confession. She told investigators their encounters often ended with a priestly blessing or a prayer. During the period Oelrich was having intercourse with the victim, he was also seeing her for confession. She told investigators their encounters often ended with a priestly blessing or a prayer.
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