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St. Louis Archdiocese releases list of clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors

There are 64 clergy members with substantiated abuse or child pornography allegations against them.

ST. LOUIS – The Archdiocese of St. Louis released a public list of clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor on Friday, and officials tell 5 On Your Side they will now send the names to the state attorney general's office.

There are 64 clergy members with credible abuse allegations against them. 61 of them are accused of sex abuse. Three are accused of child porn.

Archbishop Robert Carlson said he's making good on a promise by releasing the names, but survivors say the list is far from complete.

"The priest that molested me, his name isn't on this list, and I know at least two of us have come forward,” Barbara Dorris said.

Dorris said the priest at her St. Louis parish started raping her when she was six years old.

"I did everything I could to make sure my parents never found out, and it went on for about six years,” she said.

Her own experience is why she questions the process behind the investigation.

"What makes an allegation credible or not credible? Do we need a videotape?" she asked.

The Archdiocese didn't answer that question, only releasing a three-minute video statement from the archbishop.

"This kind of honesty on our part is one important step in the long process of healing,” Archbishop Carlson says in the video.

He says a third-party agency made up of people who used to be in the FBI and law enforcement did the investigating. They sent their findings to the Archdiocesan Review Board, which the archbishop says is composed of people not employed by the archdiocese. That board produced the list.

"I found one, and then I found a second and then I found a third,” Sharon Solomon said.

She said two priests on the list taught her. Another was the officiant of her wedding.

"That's what's most disturbing about it that I would know one person of one character, and yet to find this third-party investigation going on — and sanctioned by the church and the archbishop — it's a completely different person,” she said.

Sharon added that her faith in the church remains strong.

Barbara still has a lot of unanswered questions about the men included on and left off this list.

"Where are they now? Are they living next door to you? Are they babysitting? Are they a mentor at a school program? We don't know,” she said.

Some of the priests on the list are dead. The Archdiocese says the others are no longer working in ministry.

Archbishop Robert Carlson released the list on archstl.org. Here is the full transcript of his video statement:

Click here for the list

‘Last September, I promised to publish the names of clergy who have had substantiated claims of sexual abuse of minors against them. Today, I am fulfilling that promise.

It will be painful for all of us to see the names of clergy accused of behavior we can barely allow ourselves to imagine. But publishing their names is the right thing to do.

For years, victims have carried the burden of the crimes committed against them. In talking with many of them, I have witnessed the devastating impact on their lives and the lives of their loved ones.’ Archbishop Robert Carlson said.

The list came from a long and extensive investigation by a third-party agency, Carlson said. The investigators included former FBI and state law enforcement.

‘The results were provided to the Archdiocesan Review Board—a board composed of a majority of lay members who are not employed by the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The Review Board produced the list and shared it with me for final review. I have accepted the results of this investigative process,’ Carlson said.

Carlson released a statement on the website,

Carlson said the Archdiocese of St. Louis is working with the Attorney General’s office throughout its review of clergy personnel records, which is ongoing, to ensure that any new information regarding allegations of sexual abuse of minors by clergy is considered and handled appropriately.

Anyone who has knowledge of sexual abuse of minors or misconduct by a member of the clergy, an employee or volunteer of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, call the Office of Child and Youth Protection at 314-792-7704. The names of any additional clergy who are found to have substantiated claims of sexual abuse of minors against them, based on new information, will be added to this list, Carlson said.

List of Archdiocesan clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor

No.      Last Name      First Name      Year of Ordination      Date of Death      Status

1    Babka    Robert H.    1968    2013    Removed from ministry; deceased

2    Beckman    Dcn. Carl    1986         Removed from ministry

3    Beine    James A.    1967         Removed from ministry; laicized

4    Brinkman    Don G.    1967         Removed from ministry

5    Campbell    John R.    1958         Removed from ministry

6    Campbell    Michael A.    1979         Removed from ministry

7    Christian    Norman H.    1961    2004    Removed from ministry; deceased

8    Cooper    Thomas T.    1955    2003    Removed from ministry; deceased

9    Creason    Hubert E.    1958    2006    Removed from ministry; deceased

10    Fitzgerald    Alfred J.    1966         Removed from ministry

11    Funke    James A.    1974    1993    Removed from ministry; deceased

12    Ghio    John J.    1980         Removed from ministry

13    Goellner    Glennon J.    1950    2007    Removed from ministry; deceased

14    Graham    Thomas J.    1960         Removed from ministry;

15    Gummersbach    James L.    1954    2014    Removed from ministry; deceased

16    Heck    Donald H.    1963    2015    Removed from ministry; deceased

17    Hederman    Kevin F.    1975         Removed from ministry

18    Heier    Vincent A.    1977         Removed from ministry; retired

19    Huhn    Bernard    1952    2000    Ministry restricted; deceased

20    Hummel    Dcn. Fred    1986         Removed from ministry; laicized

21    Johnston    Robert F.    1962         Removed from ministry;

22    Kaske    John J.    1956         Removed from ministry; laicized

23    Kelley    William A.    1977    2013    Removed from ministry; deceased

24    Kopff    Marvin C.    1963    2006    Removed from ministry; deceased

25    Kuchar    Bryan M.    1993         Removed from ministry; laicized

26    Lessard    Joseph P.    1952    2014    Removed from ministry; deceased

27    Lippert    Alexander W.    1956    2000    Removed from ministry; deceased

28    McGrath    Michael    1974         Removed from ministry; laicized

29    Marschner    Aloysius J.    1936    2004    Ministry restricted; deceased

30    McClintock    Dennis J.    1973         Removed from ministry; laicized

31    Obmann    Russell    1951    2000    Removed from ministry; deceased

32    O'Brien    Joseph M.    1957    2012    Removed from ministry; deceased

33    Pavlik    James J.    1963    2015    Removed from ministry; deceased

34    Rehme    Albert A.    1956    2012    Removed from ministry; deceased

35    Ross    Joseph D.    1969         Removed from ministry; laicized

36    Schierhoff    Lawrence C.    1952    2008    Removed from ministry; laicized

37    Seidel    Michael L.    1987         Removed from ministry; laicized

38    Straub    Donald J.    1975         Removed from ministry; laicized

39    Toohey    Michael W.    1967         Removed from ministry; laicized

40    Valentine    Leroy    1977         Removed from ministry

41    Westrich    Keith M.    1981         Removed from ministry

42    Wolken    Gary P.    1993         Removed from ministry; laicized

43    Yim    Robert J.    1974         Removed from ministry; laicized

44    Zacheis    Dennis B.    1975         Removed from ministry

List of Archdiocesan clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor that were first accused after death

1    Blase'    Francis    1941    1977    Deceased

2    Bockelmann    Albert    1939    1975    Deceased

3    Byrne    Maurice    1943    1993    Deceased

4    Craig    Walter    1923    1971    Deceased

5    Galovich    George W.    1971    2012    Deceased

6    Kertz    Louis    1948    1985    Deceased

7    McLain    James    1957    1998    Deceased

8    McDonough    Roger    1965    1985    Deceased

9    O'Flynn    Bernard    1917    1981    Deceased

10    Poepperling    William    1934    1983    Deceased

11    Wieberg    John    1918    1963    Deceased

12    Zimmer    Ralph    1943    1981    Deceased

List of extern Clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor

1    Ferraro    Romano J.    1960         Removed from ministry; laicized

2    Frobas    Victor A.    1966    1993    Removed from ministry; laicized; deceased

3    Lenczycki    Frederick    1972         Removed from ministry; laicized

4    Roberts    Kenneth J.    1966    2018    Removed from ministry; deceased

5    Stauber    James F.    1959    2010    Removed from ministry; deceased

List of Archdiocesan clergy with substantiated allegations of possession of child pornography 

1    Grady    James P.    1977         Removed from ministry; laicized

2    Hess    John P.    1983         Removed from ministry

3    Vatterott    William F.    2003         Removed from ministry; laicized

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