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  Roseville Priest Quits after Accusations Are Publicized

By Charles Laszewski
Saint Paul Pioneer Press
June 6, 2002

The Rev. Richard Jeub of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Roseville has resigned, church officials confirmed Wednesday.

The Pioneer Press reported on May 26 that Jeub allegedly had inappropriate relationships with adult women and at least one girl. The incidents allegedly occurred between 1969 and the 1980s, according to documents filed as part of a lawsuit.

Jeub, 62, worked as an associate pastor at the church for three years, church officials said. He took early retirement.

"The article shamed him," said the Rev. Walter Sochacki, the pastor at St. Rose. "Dick has done a very, very good job for us."

Some St. Rose parishioners have expressed concerns that they were not informed of Jeub's history, said the Rev. Kevin McDonough, the vicar general for the Archdiocese of St.Paul-Minneapolis. They felt the trust was broken, he said.

McDonough said he told church staffers and some members of the parish's board of trustees when Jeub started working at the church that Jeub had "a pattern of sexual misconduct with adult women." McDonough said he did not mention the allegations involving teen-age girls. In retrospect, he said he should have told the entire parish about the incidents with adult women.

"I take responsibility for that," McDonough said.

But two women also alleged that Jeub abused them while they were teen-agers. One woman reached a settlement with the priest, her parish and the archdiocese over incidents alleged to have occurred in 1969. She said Jeub touched her inappropriately, kissed her and made repeated remarks about her body when she was 15 and he was a priest at her Edina parish.

A second woman, a friend of the first woman's, said Jeub sexually abused her from 1967 to 1970 while she was an adolescent at the same church. She refused a settlement and lost a civil suit against the priest. In that lawsuit, the archdiocese disclosed records indicating that Jeub had illicit affairs with at least five adult women in his parishes and other places he ministered.

When reached for comment on Wednesday, Jeub was critical of the newspaper for reporting the allegations that arose out of the lawsuit. "That stuff about child abuse is not true," Jeub said. "It didn't hold up in court. Are you happy?"

The archdiocese had previously stated that no known abusers are serving in its parishes. McDonough said he does not believe that Jeub's recent work at St. Rose was at odds with that statement.

McDonough noted that the lawsuit brought by the woman accusing the priest of sexually abusing her as a girl was decided in favor of Jeub and the church. And while the church eventually settled the claims by the other woman, McDonough said Jeub's behavior, primarily hugging, was considered inappropriate but not sexual abuse.The Rev. Richard Jeub of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Roseville has resigned, church officials confirmed Wednesday.

The Pioneer Press reported on May 26 that Jeub allegedly had inappropriate relationships with adult women and at least one girl. The incidents allegedly occurred between 1969 and the 1980s, according to documents filed as part of a lawsuit.

Jeub, 62, worked as an associate pastor at the church for three years, church officials said. He took early retirement.

"The article shamed him," said the Rev. Walter Sochacki, the pastor at St. Rose. "Dick has done a very, very good job for us."

Some St. Rose parishioners have expressed concerns that they were not informed of Jeub's history, said the Rev. Kevin McDonough, the vicar general for the Archdiocese of St.Paul-Minneapolis. They felt the trust was broken, he said.

McDonough said he told church staffers and some members of the parish's board of trustees when Jeub started working at the church that Jeub had "a pattern of sexual misconduct with adult women." McDonough said he did not mention the allegations involving teen-age girls. In retrospect, he said he should have told the entire parish about the incidents with adult women.

"I take responsibility for that," McDonough said.

But two women also alleged that Jeub abused them while they were teen-agers. One woman reached a settlement with the priest, her parish and the archdiocese over incidents alleged to have occurred in 1969. She said Jeub touched her inappropriately, kissed her and made repeated remarks about her body when she was 15 and he was a priest at her Edina parish.

A second woman, a friend of the first woman's, said Jeub sexually abused her from 1967 to 1970 while she was an adolescent at the same church. She refused a settlement and lost a civil suit against the priest. In that lawsuit, the archdiocese disclosed records indicating that Jeub had illicit affairs with at least five adult women in his parishes and other places he ministered.

When reached for comment on Wednesday, Jeub was critical of the newspaper for reporting the allegations that arose out of the lawsuit. "That stuff about child abuse is not true," Jeub said. "It didn't hold up in court. Are you happy?"

The archdiocese had previously stated that no known abusers are serving in its parishes. McDonough said he does not believe that Jeub's recent work at St. Rose was at odds with that statement.

McDonough noted that the lawsuit brought by the woman accusing the priest of sexually abusing her as a girl was decided in favor of Jeub and the church. And while the church eventually settled the claims by the other woman, McDonough said Jeub's behavior, primarily hugging, was considered inappropriate but not sexual abuse.

 
 

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