Clergy sex abuse lawsuit settled

St. Cloud Times, Minnesota/April 27, 2015

By  David Unze

A Sauk Rapids man has settled a lawsuit that accused a St. John's Abbey monk of sexual abuse.

A news conference has been scheduled for Tuesday to announce the terms of the settlement.

The lawsuit against the Rev. Allen Tarlton also named as defendants the Order of St. Benedict, St. John's Abbey and St. John's Preparatory School. The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial Monday.

Troy Bramlage sued in June 2013, less than one week after a law went into effect that lifted the six-year civil statute of limitations for childhood victims of sexual abuse.

His lawsuit, and comments made by his attorney at the time the suit was filed, claimed that St. John's Abbey knew of Tarlton's proclivities to offend against young boys as far back at the 1950s yet repeatedly allowed him to have access to children, including teaching at St. John's until 1990.

Bramlage alleged abuse by Tarlton in 1977 when Bramlage was 14 and attending St. John's Prep.

Tarlton was sent to psychiatric facilities several times for alcohol and sex offender treatment between 1960 and 1983, according to Bramlage's attorney, Jeff Anderson.

At the time of the lawsuit, the abbey issued a statement that said Tarlton was removed from "all duties at St. John's Prep School more than two decades ago."

"(Tarlton) lives in a restricted environment, under close supervision and has no contact with the students of St. John's Prep or St. John's University, according to the statement.

Bramlage is at least the fifth person to sue Tarlton and accuse him of sexual abuse. The other lawsuits either were settled or were dismissed on statute of limitations grounds.

The abbey in April 2002 named Tarlton among more than a dozen abbey priests who faced restrictions on their movements and work activities because of allegations of sexual abuse. In court depositions for previous lawsuits and in documents submitted during the Bramlage litigation, Tarlton admitted he sexually abused students.

Anderson again plans to ask the abbey to release a "full and complete list" of known offenders. The last list provided in 2002 hasn't been updated by the abbey, he said.

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