Twin Cities archdiocese faces another sex lawsuit

Published 9:58 am Friday, November 8, 2013

ST. PAUL — A lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that officials in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis allowed a priest to continue working with children despite reports that he sexually abused children as early as 1969.

Attorney Jeff Anderson filed the lawsuit against the Rev. Jerome Kern and the archdiocese.

The lawsuit was brought by a man in his 50s named in court records as “Doe 26,” Minnesota Public Radio News reported. The man alleges Kern sexually abused him in the 1970s when the accuser was 12 to 16 years old.

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Despite reports to archdiocesan officials over the years, the Roman Catholic church moved Kern from parish to parish rather than barring him from ministry, Anderson said.

“Promises were made to the moms and to the kids that something would be done and he would be removed,” Anderson said. “Instead, those promises were broken.”