MINNESOTA
WCCO
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Charges will not be filed against Archbishop John Nienstedt in connection with an alleged groping incident involving a boy.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office says St. Paul Police conducted an “extensive investigation” surrounding the allegation that Nienstedt inappropriately touched a boy during a photo session at a confirmation ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Paul on May 5, 2009.
According to the investigation, following the ceremony, the boy told his mother that Nienstedt touched his buttocks. At a later date, the mother told a friend, who happened to be a priest, about the alleged incident. The priest then reported the incident to the Archdiocese and later the police on Dec. 16, 2013.
In a later interview with police, the accuser said that during the photograph session Nienstedt’s hand had moved down his back to his buttocks, and that he thought it was “creepy,” but did not feel violated.
After locating the photograph of the accuser with Nienstedt, police observed that the group is arranged on the stairs and the Archbishop is standing one step higher than the accuser. So, it appeared that Nienstedt would have to bend to reach the boy’s buttocks and any such action would likely be witnessed by others present.
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