MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times
David Unze, dunze@stcloudtimes.com May 23, 2016
The Diocese of St. Cloud on Monday was served with several dozen civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse against children by former monks and priests who were assigned positions within the diocese.
The filings came just ahead of Wednesday’s deadline to file lawsuits under the Child Victims Act, which provided a three-year window in which victims could sue for decades-old sexual abuse. Those claims previously would have been dismissed because of statute of limitations violations.
The lawsuits served Monday on the diocese involve priests and monks from multiple religious orders and cover conduct that happened 30 years or more ago, said Michael Bryant, the St. Cloud attorney who prepared the lawsuits. Bryant said he served 75 complaints on the diocese Monday.
The diocese said it has received 73 such complaints in the three years that the Child Victims Act window has been in effect.
Those filings mean almost 900 lawsuits have been initiated in Minnesota by Bryant and Jeff Andersonsince the Child Victims Act has been law. Many have been filed against clergy, but other defendants statewide have included schools, Lutheran churches, a children’s theater company and the Boy Scouts.
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