Minn. Supreme Court to determine validity of repressed memory in sex abuse case

MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

[with audio]

by Conrad Wilson, Minnesota Public Radio
January 9, 2012

St. Cloud, Minn. — The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear a case Monday to determine if repressed memories can be used in a church sexual abuse lawsuit. If the case moves forward, the decision could lead to more sexual abuse lawsuits going to trial.

The lawsuit, filed by James Keenan against the Archdiocese of Minneapolis & St. Paul as well as the Diocese of Winona in 2006, alleges he was sexually abused by a priest named Thomas Adamson sometime between 1980 and 1982.

By filing a lawsuit decades after the incident occurred, Keenan’s claim falls outside the statute of limitations. Under Minnesota law, individuals can bring a lawsuit within six years of turning 18-years-old or when they knew or should have known about the abuse.

According to his lawyer, Jeff Anderson, Keenan didn’t initially remember the incident.

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