ST. LOUIS (AP) - The St. Louis circuit attorney's office has dismissed charges against a priest accused of sexually abusing a boy in a Catholic school bathroom, but it left open the possibility that it could refile the charges in the future.
Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce's office released a statement Wednesday announcing the dismissal of two felony counts against the Rev. Xiuhui Jiang. He was charged last year with abusing a boy under the age of 14 twice between July 2011 and August 2012 at a school in St. Louis.
Jiang's attorney, Paul D'Agrosa, said the allegations were false and the charges never should have been filed. He said Jiang is hopeful the Archdiocese of St. Louis will reinstate all of his priestly privileges, which were suspended after the allegations surfaced.
The archdiocese said in an emailed statement late Wednesday that in light of the dismissed charges, the archdiocese will review when, how and if Jiang can return to his duties as a priest. The statement also said the archdiocese cooperated "with law enforcement during the investigation of all matters related to" Jiang.
The statement from Joyce's office said charges were dismissed "for reasons that the state is unable to proceed at this time." But it noted that the charges wouldn't reach their statute of limitations for 35 years.