Plaintiff’s Attorney Stands by Abuse Allegations against Former Priest

CBS St. Louis
July 7, 2014

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/07/07/plaintiffs-attorney-stands-by-abuse-allegations-against-former-priest/

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.

Plaintiff’s 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.

Chackes hopes the case made people aware of how Fr. Ross’s case was handled by the Archdiocese.

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