(SC Times) A St. Paul attorney who has represented accusers in clergy sex-abuse cases intends to announce today plans for a lawsuit in a case involving a former St. Cloud diocese deacon.
Attorney Jeff Anderson has scheduled a news conference in St. Paul to talk about a lawsuit against the diocese and against Michael Weber, who was a deacon at Church of the Holy Spirit in St. Cloud in late 1969.
Weber, a Foley native and St. John’s University graduate, has been accused of sexually abusing at least three boys in the late 1960s.
The St. Cloud diocese conducted a three-hour listening session regarding Weber on Dec. 4, and a second session is scheduled for Dec. 19.
The diocese schedules listening sessions when it receives a credible allegation against an ordained individual involving a minor or vulnerable adult.
Anderson is expected to announce that his suit will be filed in Hennepin County District Court and will address sexual abuse suffered by a Virginia man when he was a child living in St. Cloud. The accuser says the abuse happened while he was vacationing with his family at a Minnesota lake, and that the diocese “kept quiet” about Weber’s history, according to a media advisory from Anderson.
A spokeswoman from the diocese said her comments would not be available until after Anderson’s news conference.
Weber lives in the Twin Cities area. Public accusations of abuse surfaced in mid-November. After that, he stepped down from the board of directors at the Greater Twin Cities United Way and ended his work as a volunteer mentor in the College of St. Benedict/ St. John’s University Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship.
No criminal charges have been filed against Weber. Weber has not responded to previous media requests and could not be reached Monday evening.
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Former St. Cloud deacon Weber focus of lawsuit
St. Cloud Times
December 12, 2011
