ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Jennifer S. Mann jmann@post-dispatch.com 314-621-580430
ST. LOUIS • The Archdiocese of St. Louis must release two decades worth of sexual abuse allegations against its priests, an appellate court ordered Thursday.
But no sooner had the Missouri Court of Appeals court issued its ruling than the archdiocese announced its intent to take the matter to the Missouri Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the issue goes back to St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Robert Dierker, who has already rapped the archdiocese for missing two previous deadlines he set for releasing the material.
At issue are 234 complaints made against 115 priests. The records are sought as part of a 2011 suit filed on behalf a then-19-year-old woman, who said she was sexually abused from 1997-2001 by the since-defrocked Rev. Joseph Ross.
Many of the names and corresponding records fall under a protective order, for lawyers’ eyes only. But the release of the documents — unprecedented in St. Louis — could give rise to further legal claims.
“We’re very pleased with (the decision),” said Ken Chackes, an attorney for the woman publicly known only as Jane Doe. “It fully supported Judge Dierker’s decision, which we thought was fair and reasonable.”
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