Former Foley student sues diocese, priest

MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times

dunze@stcloudtimes.com January 7, 2015

A former student at a Foley elementary school has sued a former St. Cloud Diocese priest, accusing him of abusing him years after the diocese knew the priest had abused other children.

The lawsuit accuses Rev. James Thoennes of abusing the boy in the early 1970s when Thoennes was assigned to St. John Parish in Foley. The suit says Thoennes abused the child at Thoennes’ mother’s home in Central Minnesota, a place where Thoennes invited several children to accompany him on overnight visits.

The lawsuit also names the diocese as a defendant and accuses the diocese of knowing that Thoennes had abused children before it assigned him to Foley.

Thoennes was deposed in September for a separate lawsuit and admitted sexually abusing at least five boys while working as a priest in the St. Cloud Diocese.

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