Civil trial against St. Louis archbishop to begin in clergy abuse case

TROY, Mo. -- St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson is accused in a lawsuit of mishandling the case of a priest once charged with molesting a teenager.

The lawsuit filed in 2013 alleges Carlson knew the Rev. Xiu Hui "Joseph" Jiang was a danger to children before Jiang was charged with sexual misconduct involving the then-16-year-old girl in 2012.

Jiang was added as a defendant in the lawsuit in 2015. Jury selection began Monday.

Archdiocese spokeswoman Elizabeth Westhoff said in an email Monday the archdiocese "has steadfastly denied these allegations since they were first raised and intends to defend itself in court."

According to the lawsuit, the girl told police Jiang, then an associate pastor at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica, had molested her at her home in Old Monroe, Missouri, about 40 miles northwest of St. Louis.

The suit also alleged a witness saw Jiang kissing the girl on the mouth and touching her inappropriately "in the parking lot of the church rectory."

Ken Chackes, the girl's lawyer, said Jiang also sent emails and text messages to the girl from an archdiocese-issued cellphone and computer "telling her how much he loved her and how much he wanted to be with her."

Jiang was charged with child endangerment and witness tampering after he allegedly left a $20,000 check and an apology on a family's car. Those charges later were dismissed.

The suit states the girl's parents asked Carlson in 2012 whether Jiang would be removed from the priesthood.

The suit said Carlson responded "that he would remove Jiang if he 'had sex' with the child, but not for activities other than that."

Jiang, a native of China, was ordained in 2010.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the trial in Lincoln County, Missouri, will be presided over by St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer. The trial is expected to take two weeks.