A new lawsuit against the Diocese of New Ulm alleges a priest years ago sexually abused a boy while at St. John’s Church in Darwin, the first time a sex abuse case has been linked to a Meeker County parish.
Parishioners at St. John’s
received a letter from the diocese last month stating a priest at the
church from 1965 to 1969 has been accused of sexual abuse.
The priest, Charles Stark, retired in 1987 and died in 1991, according to the diocese.
The lawsuit alleges Stark abused an 11-year-old altar boy, who helped
Stark with day-to-day church activities, including Mass, funerals and
weddings. The boy was a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, or CCD,
student, and he was also paid to do “odd jobs” like mowing the lawn and
edging sidewalks, the lawsuit states.,,,
Similar letters also went to other churches where Stark served, including St. Andrew’s Church in Granite Falls, where another priest accused of sexual abuse, now-deceased Francis Markey, worked. Stark was at St. Andrew’s from 1969 to 1971, while Markey served at St. Andrew’s in 1982.
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There is also a third case pending that involves Stark during his time at another church, Finnegan added.
Sex abuse case linked to church in Darwin - Litchfield Independent Review: Local
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