UPDATED::Former Winter priest charged with sexually assaulting altar boys | Free | apg-wi.com

UPDATE::  'May God have mercy on your soul': Victims speak as ex-priest gets maximum sentence for sexual assault

An audible sigh of relief was let loose in the Sawyer County Courthouse on Thursday as a former Wisconsin priest received a maximum prison sentence for sexually assaulting young boys in the 1980s.

Four men celebrated the moment in the Hayward courtroom after sharing stories of abuse perpetrated by a man they once trusted. One of the victims, a teacher from Merrill, went public with his identity for the first time Thursday.

Thomas Ericksen, 72, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on two charges of sexually assaulting boys while stationed at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Winter. He also will be registered as a sex offender for life.

UPDATE::  Wisconsin priest abuse case: Sawyer County sheriff says two more victims came forward

Investigators are looking into two new cases of alleged sexual abuse by a former Wisconsin priest charged in November with three assaults dating to the early 1980s.

Sawyer County Sheriff Douglas Mrotek said Tuesday that the department is investigating the new allegations against Thomas Ericksen. 

Ericksen, 71, was arrested Nov. 16 in Minneapolis after the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department issued a warrant. He was accused of sexually abusing at least three boys between June 1982 and April 1983 while he was stationed at St. Peter's Church in Winter, Wis.

In charges filed Friday, Nov. 16, the Sawyer County District Attorney’s office is accusing a former parish priest at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Winter with sexually abusing altar boys while he was stationed in Winter in 1982 and 1983.

Thomas Edward Ericksen, 71, now residing in Minneapolis, is charged with first-degree felony sexual abuse of a boy under the age of 12 from June 1, 1982, through April 1, 1983, in the village of Winter; second-degree felony sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy on Sept. 17, 1982; and second-degree felony sexual assault of an unconscious victim on Feb. 4, 1983.

The charges were filed by Assistant District Attorney Aaron Marcoux, based on an investigation by the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office.

Former Winter priest charged with sexually assaulting altar boys | Free | apg-wi.com