NewsMarch 17, 2002
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A former Missouri seminary student will allege in a lawsuit that he was molested by a former Florida bishop who resigned after admitting he inappropriately touched another student during the 1970s. Jeffrey Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn. attorney, said Friday he represents a 47-year-old man who came forward after reading that former Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell had said there might be a second victim...
The Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A former Missouri seminary student will allege in a lawsuit that he was molested by a former Florida bishop who resigned after admitting he inappropriately touched another student during the 1970s.

Jeffrey Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn. attorney, said Friday he represents a 47-year-old man who came forward after reading that former Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell had said there might be a second victim.

During a March 8 news conference to announce his resignation, the former bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach said "there could be one other person of a somewhat similar situation in a somewhat similar time frame."

Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!

Anderson declined to identify the man but said the lawsuit would be filed Monday in Hannibal, Mo., against St. Thomas Aquinas Preparatory Seminary -- where O'Connell served as rector -- and the Jefferson City Diocese.

Mark Saucier, a spokesman for the Jefferson City diocese, did not immediately return a phone call Saturday. A spokesman for the Palm Beach diocese said O'Connell was in seclusion and could not be reached for comment.

O'Connell resigned after Christopher Dixon, a 40-year-old former seminary student, said the bishop touched him inappropriately in bed during counseling sessions in the late 1970s.

Anderson said the lawsuit will allege that O'Connell "sexualized" a counseling relationship at St. Thomas seminary about 20 years ago.

Story Tags

Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:

For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.

Advertisement
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!