MN--Group praises Lutheran abuse victim for new lawsuit
For immediate release: Monday, Dec. 14, 2015
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
We applaud the brave woman who is suing an abusive Minnesota youth minister and shining a light on child sex crimes and cover ups in Protestant denominations.
She reports having been repeatedly sexually violated when she was 12 and a member of the Zion Lutheran Church in Hopkins, Minnesota. The alleged predator is Rev. John Huchthausen who reportedly arrived at the Church in 1974 after being as a missionary in the Philippines. He appears to have stayed at the church until 1979.
We hope others who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes or cover ups in Protestant churches will come forward, expose wrongdoers, protect kids and call police.
We share the concern voiced by Doe’s attorneys: that relatively fewer women who were abused as girls seek justice than men who were abused by boys. We urge every single person who was raped or molested as innocent kids or vulnerable adults to use the courts to warn parents, police, prosecutors and the public about clerics who commit or conceal sexual violence.
The new civil suit was filed in Hennepin County.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected], [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Frank Meuers of Plymouth MN, SNAP director Southern Minnesota (952-334-5180, [email protected]), Verne Wagner of Duluth, SNAP director Northern Minnesota (218-340-1277, [email protected])
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
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