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	Lawsuits Accuse Former Minnesota Priest of Sex Abuse Suits Accuse Former Priest in Minnesota of Sex Abuse Saint Paul Pioneer Press July 1, 1999 Lawsuits were filed Wednesday by two men who say they were sexually abused as boys by a former Roman Catholic priest who served at St. William's Catholic Church in Fridley and St. Michael's Catholic Church in Prior Lake. Neither man was named in the lawsuits, but the priest was identified as the Rev. Gilbert DeSutter. The allegations against DeSutter were first made in 1993 by one of the men and in 1997 by the other. The lawsuits were filed after settlement negotiations broke down, according to a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. After the first allegations were made in 1993, DeSutter was taken off ministry duty and given psychological counseling, the archdiocese spokeswoman said. DeSutter retired from the archdiocese in 1993, she said. One of the men, who now lives in Alaska, was about 13 years old when the sexual abuse occurred in either 1978 or 1979, the lawsuit filed in Ramsey County District Court said. The man said he did not recall the abuse until January 1993. The other man indicated the sexual abuse took place in 1992. The archdiocese was notified in 1997. The lawsuit was filed in Scott County District Court.
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