MINNESOTA
Washington Times
By AMY FORLITI – Associated Press – Sunday, June 21, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – When Archbishop John Nienstedt resigned last week as leader of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said he’d “allow the facts to lead the way” in his ongoing investigation into an alleged cover-up of sexual abuse.
Choi filed criminal charges against the archdiocese as a corporation this month, and hasn’t ruled out charges against individuals if evidence warrants. So far, that hasn’t happened.
“In a criminal investigation that’s being undertaken by someone as careful as John Choi, it’s very hard to guess what they are doing … because there’s a lot that goes on under the surface,” according to Mark Osler, a criminal law professor at the University of St. Thomas.
The initial charges could be a prelude to something more, or not: “A prosecutor is going to hold their cards pretty close to the vest,” Osler said.
The court documents list several instances in which church leaders missed opportunities to report information about Curtis Wehmeyer, 50, a former priest convicted in 2012 of molesting two boys.
Here’s how prosecutors say key church leaders handled the Wehmeyer case:
FORMER ARCHBISHOP JOHN NIENSTEDT
Nienstedt became archbishop in 2008. About a year later, Wehmeyer asked to become a pastor. Canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger repeatedly warned Nienstedt that Wehmeyer had engaged in risky behavior, which included a 2004 incident in which he approached two younger-looking males about sex in a bookstore.
Nienstedt appointed Wehmeyer as pastor of two parishes in 2009.
In a 2014 interview with The Associated Press, Nienstedt said he knew about the bookstore incident but that Wehmeyer had been evaluated and there was nothing “that would indicate he would be a danger to young people.”
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