MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio
Matt Sepic St. Paul, Minn. Sep 24, 2014
A Minnesota woman is speaking publicly about sexual abuse she says she suffered at the hands of one of the nation’s most notorious predator priests.
Linda Carroll said the Rev. James Porter assaulted her repeatedly in 1969 and 1970 when she was a second-grader at St. Philip’s school in Bemidji.
Carroll is suing the Diocese of Crookston, which employed Porter for a short time, claiming the diocese created a public nuisance. She said she hopes going public will encourage other victims to come forward. In her lawsuit, she’s known as Jane Doe 24.
“You have to put a name and a face to it, because otherwise people don’t get it,” Carroll said Wednesday during a news conference with St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson. “They see Jane Doe number 24 and it doesn’t really mean anything.”
In 1993, Porter pleaded guilty in Massachusetts to sexually assaulting 28 children. He died in prison in 2005. He was accused of sexually abusing more than 100 children during his 14 years as a priest.
In a statement, the Diocese of Crookston called Carroll’s nuisance claim “ill suited” to this case.
Carroll is also suing the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, and the Servants of the Paraclete, a religious order that treats priests with sexual disorders.
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