Crosiers sued for negligence amid sex abuse claims

Two men are suing a Roman Catholic religious order for alleged sexual abuse that occurred more than 30 years ago at a prep school in Onamia, Minn.

The complaints, filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court against the Crosier Fathers and Brothers, allege the two were each abused as minors by three clerics.

One of the clerics, the Rev. Gerald Funcheon, was the subject of three suits filed in Ramsey County last November and December.

In the cases filed Tuesday, one alleged victim, Doe 51, claims he was abused by Funcheon, Brother Gabriel Guerrero and Brother Roman Fleischhacker from about 1979 to 1981 when he was about 15 to 17 years old.

The second, Doe 56, alleges abuse by Funcheon, the Rev. Roger Vaughn and Brother Wendell Mohs in about 1979 or 1980 when he was about 14 or 15 years old.

Their attorney, Jeff Anderson, said in a statement: "We applaud the courage of Doe 51 and Doe 56 in coming forward to seek accountability and take back power that was stolen from them as children by abusive clergy."

In the complaints, the alleged victims are described as having been raised in devout Catholic families and as having great respect and trust in the church. Neither of the filings details the alleged abuse. The suits allege negligence by the Crosiers and seek more than $50,000 in damages.

Lisa Cassidy, a spokeswoman for the Crosier order, said Tuesday that she did not have information about the current complaints. She referred a reporter to a statement on the Crosier website that says in part: "The Crosiers do not tolerate any forms of sexual misconduct, and are deeply sorry for any pain caused by a Crosier. We have stringent policies and actions of accountability in place to prevent future abuse."

The statement said Funcheon, Vaughn and Mohs left the Crosier order; Fleischhacker died in 2013; and Guerrero, now retired, was removed from work with minors in 1990.

In November, five men sued the Crosiers and Funcheon, alleging that Funcheon abused children while he worked at St. Odilia Church in Shoreview and while he taught at Palma High School in Salinas, Calif.

At that time, Anderson, who represents the men who filed those two suits, said that the Crosiers reassigned Funcheon to about 17 locations in eight states. In Onamia, Funcheon taught physical education, driver's education and swimming.

Both of the November cases, as well as a third filed in December, remain open.

Staff writer Chao Xiong contributed to this report.

Anthony Lonetree • 651-925-5036