ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Judge rules sexual abuse lawsuit involving St. Louis priest will proceed to trial
By Lilly Fowler
A Lincoln County judge has ruled that a sexual-abuse lawsuit involving a local priest can proceed to trial.
Attorneys for the Archdiocese of St. Louis and Archbishop Robert Carlson had tried in September to have a civil lawsuit against the Rev. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang dismissed, in part because the alleged abuse occurred away from church property.
“Despite the fact that one of its priests, Father Joseph Jiang, used his power and authority as a priest to manipulate and abuse a child, the archdiocese tried to have the case thrown out on a technicality,” said Nicole Gorovsky, one of the attorneys representing the family of the teenage girl at the center of the case. “They did not succeed.”
The judge issued the ruling on Dec. 28, though plaintiff attorneys said they only become aware of the court’s decision on Thursday.
Jiang was first arrested on allegations of molesting the teenage girl in 2012. The two are said to have met when she was 15 and attending the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica with her family, where Jiang was associate pastor.
Lincoln County Judge Chris Kunza Mennemeyer dismissed the criminal case against Jiang in 2013 because prosecutors could not show that Jiang was ever the only one with the girl at her home, where the alleged abuse is said to have taken place.
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