A woman who accused a priest of molesting her when she was a teenager had her day in court this past week when the Rev. J. Gibbs Clauder -- whose sexual involvement with adult women led to a landmark state Supreme Court ruling 15 years ago -- became the first priest from the Madison Diocese ever tried on a sex charge.
A Dane County Circuit Court jury on Monday acquitted Clauder, 65, of a charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child after a weeklong trial and 10 hours of deliberation. Despite the jury's verdict of not guilty, advocates for priest sex victims are applauding the fact that a criminal charge was brought in the case involving the alleged touching in 2004 of the then 14-year-old girl. The prosecutor in the case, Assistant District Attorney Robert Kaiser, says while he doesn't know how the case was handled within the diocese, once law enforcement authorities were notified, church officials were very accommodating.
"We couldn't have had any more cooperation than we did," he said. "They denied us nothing."
Both statements are a marked change from past years when church officials were careful to say as little as possible, thwarting civil and criminal prosecution. That's not to say that victims' advocates don't think the church could have done more sooner in this case -- they do -- but the change is noticeable.
The Capital Times: Priest's sex trial shows church's changed stance toward accusers
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