News Conference Part 1: Attorney Jeff Anderson Discusses Priest Abuse Lawsuit

By Leslie Dyste
KSTP
November 19, 2013

http://kstp.com/article/stories/S3223102.shtml

[Click here to watch 'part 2' of the news conference.]

[Click here to read the full story.]

[with video]

A Minnesota man who claims he was sexually abused by a priest from 1989 through 1992 sued the Twin Cities archdiocese, St. John's Abbey and a center that treats clergy with psychological issues on Tuesday.



The lawsuit claims Francis Hoefgen was at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church in Hastings when he molested the plaintiff, who was 10 to 13 years old at the time. It alleges the defendants should have known Hoefgen was a danger because he admitted to abusing another boy just a few years earlier. It also alleges church officials didn't warn Hoefgen's new parish about the risk.



"This is quite disturbing, quite alarming. But also quite familiar and quite typical," said Jeff Anderson, an attorney for the plaintiff, who's identified in the lawsuit as Doe 27. "All of these entities made conscious choices to conceal, instead of reveal, the truth about the hazard and because of it, countless kids were hurt."