MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 11/03/2014
The case of a priest convicted of having sex with a woman he was counseling came before the Minnesota Supreme Court once again Monday.
Christopher T. Wenthe, who turns 50 on Tuesday, was assigned to Nativity of Our Lord parish in St. Paul in 2003, when he became sexually involved with a college student who had sought his spiritual advice.
She testified at trial that she told the priest about her struggles with an eating disorder and prior sexual abuse, and that he agreed to serve as her confessor. She said he exploited her vulnerability and trust in him as a priest.
Wenthe countered that the relationship was a friendship that went awry and that the 21-year-old woman was a willing participant.
The case has bounced around the courts since Wenthe went to trial in Ramsey County in 2011.
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