MINNESOTA
Star Tribune
By Rochelle Olson Star Tribune JUNE 24, 2015
A split Minnesota Supreme Court has reinstated the sexual misconduct conviction of a St. Paul Roman Catholic priest, saying prosecutors weren’t required to prove that he knew he was in a spiritual counseling session with his accuser when they had sex.
The court’s action, announced Wednesday, stripped out a new requirement that had been imposed on prosecutors by the state Court of Appeals in the case. The lower court had required them to prove that the cleric had knowledge that the accuser was seeking or received religious or spiritual advice, aid or comfort in the meeting.
Justice G. Barry Anderson wrote the 25-page decision signed by Chief Justice Laurie Gildea and Justices David Lillehaug and David Stras. Justice Alan Page wrote a 15-page dissent, saying prosecutors should be required to show that a defendant clergy member knew or had reason to know the nature of the meeting was for spiritual counseling.
The state Supreme Court’s ruling reinstated the conviction of Christopher Thomas Wenthe. He was convicted of one count of clergy third-degree sexual misconduct occurring between Nov. 1, 2003, and Dec. 31, 2003. He was acquitted of a second count covering the entirety of the one-year sexual relationship.
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