News & Events

Winona Diocese Publicly Releases Names of Two Priests Accused of Sexually Abusing Minors

Father Harold Mountain and Father Thomas Duane
added to the list of accused priests

(Winona, MN) – Today the Diocese of Winona publicly released and added the names of two more priests to their list of accused clerics, Father Harold Mountain and Father Thomas Duane. Both names have never been released to the public before. There are now 17 clerics accused of sexual abuse who worked in the Winona Diocese.

This disclosure is a result of the October 2014 settlement agreement in the civil lawsuit…

Court Rules That Survivors’ Public Nuisance Claims AgainstDiocese of New Ulm May ProceedOrder Will Help Protect Children, Expose Diocese’s Protection of Abusive Priests, and Scrutinize Archbishop Nienstedt’s Decisions Regarding Priest Information(New Ulm) – Brown County District Court Judge Robert A. Docherty has ruled that three clergy sexual abuse survivors’ public nuisance claims against the Diocese of New Ulm can proceed. Judge Docherty’s March 27, 2015, order will help hold the Diocese of New Ulm accountable for protecting pedophile priests in the past and will help keep children safe in …

The Diocese of New Ulm quietly released the names of four accused clerical offenders. One offender, Father Dennis Becker, was publicly named for the first time. To our knowledge the media and general public were not alerted to this important announcement. 

Today, we received the long-awaited decision from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the cemetery trust litigation in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy case.  The Seventh Circuit ruled in favor of the survivors and held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and First Amendment do not preclude survivors from challenging the Archdiocese’s designation of approximately $55 million to the care of its…

Kirstyn Harasyn, an adult who was abused as a minor by a Ham Lake, Minn., youth ministries director, has settled her civil lawsuit against her abuser and the church for which he worked. Today, she speaks out with a powerful statement about the abuse she endured, her journey of recovery and her mission to save other children from being hurt by her abuser and others.

NOTICE OF CORRECTION(St. Paul, MN) – Correction by Jeff Anderson & Associates, P.A. concerning Father Marvin Klaers.Information was reported in the Cannon Falls Beacon which is inaccurate regarding the number of people we know about who have accused Father Klaers. Our office represents one survivor who has provided a notice of claim to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis concerning an allegation of sexual abuse as a minor. We represent no other survivors of abuse by Fr. Klaers. We also have not received telephone calls regarding sexual abuse of minors by Fr. Klaers.  Co…

(St. Paul, MN) – The names of 17 clergy who have been accused of sexual abuse or misconduct with a minor in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis were released for the first time today. All clergy whose names were released have been identified in notice of claims submitted to the Archdiocese and its insurance carriers. A complete list of all clergy named in the notice of claims is available..

News ReleaseFebruary 11, 201517 Names of Clergy Accused of Sexual Abuse or Misconduct with Minors Publicly Released For the First Time TodayThe names have been submitted in notice of claims to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (St. Paul, MN) – The names of 17 clergy who have been accused of sexual abuse or misconduct with a minor in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis were released for the first time today. All clergy whose names were released have been identified in notice of claims submitted to the Archdiocese and its insurance carriers. A complete list of all cler…

Media AdvisoryFebruary 3, 2015First Public Nuisance Lawsuit Filed Against the Archdiocese of Chicago Involving Fr. Daniel McCormackThe lawsuit seeks disclosure of the identities and secret documents of all clergy offenders since 1950 (Chicago, IL) – The law firm of Jeff Anderson & Associates, in conjunction with Kerns, Frost & Pearlman, filed a lawsuit today on behalf of a man, John Doe 239, who was sexually abused by Father Daniel McCormack at St. Agatha parish in Chicago. The lawsuit names the Archdiocese of Chicago as the defendant and alleges the Archdiocese created a pub…

(St. Paul, MN) –  Ramsey County District Court Judge John H. Guthmann Tuesday ordered the Defendants in the Doe 30 lawsuit to produce all records pertaining to sexual abuse reported to have been committed by any priest before 1978. The secret documents will be produced to Doe 30 under seal as a result of a protective …

On January 21, 2015 a civil lawsuit was filed in Nassau County, New York on behalf of a young woman who alleges she was sexually abused by Father Gregory Yacyshyn when she was a young parishioner at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Greenlawn, New York. Defendants in the lawsuit include the Diocese of Rockville Centre and Father Gregory Yacyshyn. 

(St. Paul, MN) – At a hearing today, United States Bankruptcy Judge Robert J. Kressel ordered survivors, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, and the insurance companies, over objections from the insurance companies, to mediation for resolution of all current and future claims.  The mediation was ordered before Judge Arthur Boylan, a respected and former federal magistrate, now a professional mediator who was instrumental in settling the NFL dispute….

 Media AdvisoryJanuary 20, 2014Hearing Today on Public Nuisance Claim Involving the Diocese of New Ulm Survivors, advocates pursue transparency, disclosure from the only Minnesota diocese yet to disclose the identities of clerics accused of child sexual abuse(New Ulm, MN) – At a hearing today at 3:00PM in New Ulm at the Brown County Courthouse, attorneys will argue on behalf of sexual abuse survivors to allow public nuisance claims to move forward that were alleged in several lawsuits filed against the New Ulm Diocese. Five lawsuits have been filed on behalf of seven survivors a…