ST. LOUIS (MO)
CBS St. Louis
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Just hours before a child abuse case against a former priest was set to go to trial this morning, officials with the St. Louis Archdiocese announced a settlement.
A 22-year-old woman identified as Jane Doe had accused Father Joseph Ross of molesting her as a small girl between 1997 and 2001
.
Defense attorney Ken Chackes says he stands by Jane Doe 92 and her allegations that she was raped by Father Ross while she was a parishioner at St. Cronan’s Church.
“We believe a jury would have ultimately found that Father Ross raped Jane Doe 92,” he says.
Chackes says some of her therapists also support her story, and he thinks a jury would have found the same.
But, he also agrees with the Archdiocese that “no healing” would have come from a three-week trial.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.