Former priest to face trial for alleged abuse decades ago

HAYWARD, Wis. (AP) — A former priest accused of sexually abusing at least three boys in Wisconsin decades ago has been bound over for trial.

Thomas Ericksen was arrested Nov. 16 at his Minneapolis home. The
71-year-old faces child sexual assault charges for alleged abuse between June 1982 and April 1983, while he was at St. Peter’s Church in Winter, Wisconsin.

Ericksen appeared in court Wednesday and his attorney argued that credibility of purported victims had to be called into question due to the amount of time since the alleged crimes, the Wausau Daily Herald reported. The judge disagreed and bound the case over for trial.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis says Ericksen was removed from the priesthood in 1988.

If you go to the Ericksen’s page on the Archdiocese website, there are two links to report abuse.