St. Paul Archdiocese charges dropped as it admits mishandling sex-abuse allegations

MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By TORY COONEY | vcooney@pioneerpress.com

Criminal charges against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis over its handling of a child sexual-abuse case are expected to be dropped later Wednesday after prosecutors announced additional oversights measures.

Also part of the latest deal: Archdiocese officials agree to publicly admit wrongdoing for the way it handled abuse allegations.

Said Archbishop Hebda after a court hearing Wednesday: “Today I, as the leader of this archdiocese, stand before you to say we have failed — in what we have done and what we have failed to do.”

The Catholic archdiocese faced six gross misdemeanor counts of child endangerment for allegedly turning a blind eye to repeated misconduct by Curtis Wehmeyer, a former priest at Church of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul who is now in prison. Wehmeyer was convicted of molesting two boys in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin.

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