Priest sexual abuse trial to begin Monday
Posted: Monday, May 02, 2005
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- Trial was scheduled to begin Monday in Scott County District Court in a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a defrocked priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport.
The lawsuit was filed in 2003 by a man who claims James Janssen abused him decades ago, beginning in the early 1950s. The lawsuit claims the diocese kept the abuse secret for 40 years.
Janssen was removed from the priesthood by the Vatican in September.
The plaintiff's attorney, Craig Levien, said last-minute settlement talks on Thursday failed in the case. The settlement meetings were accompanied by last-day court filings that listed possible evidence and potential witnesses.
Several other people also claim Janssen abused them as children and have filed similar lawsuits.
"It's time for the truth to come out," said one woman whose husband claimed abuse by Janssen. "That's what's going to help the victims."
Court records show Levien plans to call to the stand seven men who say they were sexually abused by Janssen years ago. He also plans to call two priests and mental health experts.
However, the judge hearing the case, District Judge C.H. Pelton, has told Levien he will not allow some of those witnesses to testify because they have to have information "relevant in time and space" to the allegations.
Janssen, an active priest in the diocese from 1948 to 1990, has denied the allegations in court documents.
The diocese has agreed to pay $9 million to settle 37 similar claims, many which it says resulted from Janssen's behavior. Three men dropped lawsuits days before the first scheduled trial after settlement with the diocese.
The trial beginning Monday will be the first time testimony and evidence related to the allegations are presented in public. It also will be the first civil trial of a priest or ex-priest on allegations of sexual abuse in Iowa.
The jury will have to sort through a number of legal issues including whether the alleged abuse happened, why it took decades to be reported, and whether the alleged victim waited too long to be eligible to receive damages or if he qualifies for an exemption to the statute of limitations.
The jury's findings could have weight on the remaining lawsuits against Janssen and other priests in the Davenport Diocese accused of sexual abuse.
"The evidence will be overwhelming," Levien said during an April 21 pretrial hearing. "The truth has been continually denied under oath by Janssen."
Janssen's attorney, Edward Wehr, has repeatedly declined comment on the lawsuit.
Victims' advocacy groups call the case "one of the most well-documented cases of a clearly dangerous repeat offender."
The lawsuit was filed in 2003 by a man who claims James Janssen abused him decades ago, beginning in the early 1950s. The lawsuit claims the diocese kept the abuse secret for 40 years.
Janssen was removed from the priesthood by the Vatican in September.
The plaintiff's attorney, Craig Levien, said last-minute settlement talks on Thursday failed in the case. The settlement meetings were accompanied by last-day court filings that listed possible evidence and potential witnesses.
Several other people also claim Janssen abused them as children and have filed similar lawsuits.
"It's time for the truth to come out," said one woman whose husband claimed abuse by Janssen. "That's what's going to help the victims."
Court records show Levien plans to call to the stand seven men who say they were sexually abused by Janssen years ago. He also plans to call two priests and mental health experts.
However, the judge hearing the case, District Judge C.H. Pelton, has told Levien he will not allow some of those witnesses to testify because they have to have information "relevant in time and space" to the allegations.
Janssen, an active priest in the diocese from 1948 to 1990, has denied the allegations in court documents.
The diocese has agreed to pay $9 million to settle 37 similar claims, many which it says resulted from Janssen's behavior. Three men dropped lawsuits days before the first scheduled trial after settlement with the diocese.
The trial beginning Monday will be the first time testimony and evidence related to the allegations are presented in public. It also will be the first civil trial of a priest or ex-priest on allegations of sexual abuse in Iowa.
The jury will have to sort through a number of legal issues including whether the alleged abuse happened, why it took decades to be reported, and whether the alleged victim waited too long to be eligible to receive damages or if he qualifies for an exemption to the statute of limitations.
The jury's findings could have weight on the remaining lawsuits against Janssen and other priests in the Davenport Diocese accused of sexual abuse.
"The evidence will be overwhelming," Levien said during an April 21 pretrial hearing. "The truth has been continually denied under oath by Janssen."
Janssen's attorney, Edward Wehr, has repeatedly declined comment on the lawsuit.
Victims' advocacy groups call the case "one of the most well-documented cases of a clearly dangerous repeat offender."
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