At civil sex abuse trial, St. Louis priest is described as predator, brother and savior

MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Joel Currier St. Louis Post-Dispatch

TROY, MO. • Wearing his clerical collar, Rev. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang sat in a courtroom Tuesday as lawyers on opposing sides of a civil lawsuit portrayed him as a sexual predator who betrayed Lincoln County family’s trust and as the brotherly savior to a teenage girl seeking refuge from her family’s religious cult rituals.

Jiang, 34, is on trial this week in a civil suit accusing him of molesting a 16-year-old girl during a visit to her home in 2012. At the time, Jiang was an associate pastor at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica in the Central West End. The teen’s parents sued the priest, St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson and the St. Louis Archdiocese in 2013, accusing Jiang of abuse and Carlson of failing to supervise Jiang despite knowing that Jiang was dangerous to children.

Jiang arrived in St. Louis in 2009 with Carlson, who was installed as archbishop that year. Originally from China, Jiang had been in Carlson’s care since he was a young seminarian. Jiang was ordained here in 2010.

Lawyers for Jiang, his accuser and the archdiocese gave opening statements Tuesday to start what could be a two-week trial in Lincoln County Circuit Court. St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer was appointed to preside over the trial after criminal charges against Jiang were dropped.

Jiang’s accuser, now 21, was in court Tuesday; the Post-Dispatch does not identify accusers in sex crime cases. Carlson, too, watched the opening statements from the courtroom.

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