ST. LOUIS (MO)
CBS St. Louis
Associated Press/Kevin Killeen (@KMOXKilleen)
ST. LOUIS (AP/KMOX) – A St. Louis priest who was accused of sexually abusing a boy in a Catholic school bathroom before the charges were dropped earlier this month is suing the alleged victim’s parents, police and a victim’s rights group.
Barbara Dorris of The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) tells KMOX that she believes the suit is intended to send a message.
“Our fear is that this is a way to intimidate victims, witnesses and whistle-blowers…into silence,” says Dorris. “If you tell the truth, we will sue you and I think it’s intended to silence people.”
The Rev. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang, 32, filed suit Thursday in U.S. District Court, seeking unspecified damages. The suit claims he was unfairly targeted and his reputation was damaged.
It names the boy’s parents by their initials, as well two police officers, the city of St. Louis, SNAP and SNAP leaders David Clohessy and Barbara Dorris.
Jiang’s lawsuit said he “fled religious persecution in his native land of China, only to face religious persecution in America in the form of unconstitutional discrimination by state officials.” It also said the parents “falsely and maliciously accused (Jiang) of sexually abusing their minor son for the crass motive of monetary gain,” and that police officers went after him because of his religious and racial background.
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