Robert Kapoun
Also known as the “Polka Padre,” Father Robert Kapoun had a band that played polka music at mass and in churches across Minnesota and is known to have sexually abused boys as early as 1966. Father Kapoun was named in a civil suit in 1989 and accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy for two years from 1973-1974. Four more men came forward in 1995 accusing Father Kapoun of sexual abuse while they were minors from 1966-1981.
Archbishop Roach allegedly knew about Kapoun’s sexual abuse of children as early as 1973, but failed to take action. Archbishop Roach testified in a 1996 trial that he allowed Kapoun to remain in ministry in 1986 despite having received a report of sexual abuse at St. Patrick’s in Cedar Lake, Minnesota, from Monsignor Srnec.
In 1996, Father Robert Kapoun was finally removed from ministry when one of his victims went public.
Assignments for Father Robert Kapoun include Holy Redeemer in Montgomery, Minnesota, from 1964-1967; St. Kevin’s in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 1967-1971; St. Raphael’s in Crystal, Minnesota, from 1971-1974; Home of the Good Shepherd, a protective institution for girls, from 1974-1976; sick leave from 1976-1977; St. Patrick’s in Cedar Lake, Minnesota, from 1977-1984; St. Catherine’s in Spring Lake, Minnesota, from 1977-1984; St. Scholastica in Heidelberg, Minnesota; St. Joseph’s in Lexington, Minnesota, from 1984-1996; and St. Thomas in St. Thomas, Minnesota, from 1991-1996. From 1996-2002, when Father Kapoun retired, he was on special assignment in Cold Spring, Minnesota.