Media
Advisory
News
Conference, Thursday, June 14 @ 11:00 A.M. CDT
[Streamed
live at www.andersonadvocates.com]
New claim
against Crookston Diocese underscores seriousness
of
international movement and protection of
known
offenders by Bishops
Second
lawsuit to be filed against priest who fled to India after
being
accused of sexually assaulting two teenage girls
Father
Jeyapaul case is painful example of long standing Vatican practice of providing
safe harbor for accused priests
What: At a press conference on Thursday in St. Paul,
clergy abuse attorney Jeff Anderson will announce a new lawsuit filed against
the Diocese of Crookston and involving the sexual abuse in 2005 of a teenage girl
by a priest on loan from India. The
priest, Reverend Joseph Jeyapaul,
who was also charged criminally by Roseau County authorities, fled the diocese
prior to the charges being filed and returned to India where he was recently
arrested as a fugitive from justice.
This Minnesota case underscores the seriousness of the
international movement and protection of known sexual offenders by Bishops of the
Catholic Church. According to a recent
report in the Chicago Tribune, Jeyapaul is one of at least 32 Roman Catholic
priests nationwide who while facing criminal charges, or being investigated for
sexual abuse, have fled the United States.
The plaintiff in this new case, identified in the
complaint as Jane Doe 122, is the second victim of Jeyapaul to file a civil
lawsuit against the Crookston Diocese.
Earlier this year, Megan Peterson, now 22, and a victim of sexual
assault by Jeyapaul, settled a civil claim against the diocese for $750,000 and
provisions that required the Diocese to warn Catholics in India of Jeyapaul’s
history and provide child protection and outreach within the Diocese of
Crookston.
When: Thursday, June 14, 2011 @ 11:00 A.M. CDT
Where: Offices
of Jeff Anderson & Associates
366
Jackson Street, Suite 100
St.
Paul, MN
Also streamed live at
www.andersonadvocates.com
Who: Attorney
Jeff Anderson, an internationally known trial lawyer widely recognized as a
pioneer in clergy sexual abuse litigation. Anderson has represented thousands
of survivors of sexual abuse by authority figures and clergy.
Attorney Steven A.
Anderson, Warroad, Minnesota, local counsel in affiliation with Jeff
Anderson & Associates.
Megan Peterson,
age 22, a survivor of sexual abuse by Jeyapaul and the Plaintiff in the case
settled earlier this year.
Contact Jeff
Anderson: Office/651.227.9990 Mobile/612.817.8665
