MINNESOTA
NPR
SCOTT NEUMAN
The Archdiocese of St. Paul has been criminally charged with allegedly turning a “blind eye” to sexual abuse against minor boys by former priest Curtis Wehmeyer, who pleaded guilty in 2012.
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said he was holding the archdiocese to account as a corporation on six gross misdemeanor charges and a related civil complaint for failing to stop Wehmeyer’s abuse.
Choi said the archdiocese “time and time again turned a blind eye” to what was going on at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul., where Wehmeyer served. He was dismissed as a priest by Pope Francis in March, three years after he was permanently barred from ministry.
“The facts we have gathered cannot be ignored, they cannot be dismissed, and are frankly appalling, especially when viewed in their entirety,” the attorney said.
Choi said facts in the case were still being uncovered. St. Paul Police Chief Tom Smith asked anyone with information to come forward.
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