ST. LOUIS (AP) - The Archdiocese of St. Louis is facing a lawsuit filed by a 19-year-old woman who accuses a priest of molesting her when she was a young child.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the suit filed Monday claims that the archdiocese knew that the Rev. Joseph Ross had pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a minor, but allowed him to work in a parish with children.
The archdiocese says it will review the lawsuit and investigate the complaint.
Ross was placed on probation for two years in the criminal case involving an 11-year-old boy. He was defrocked in 2002.
The woman's suit claims she was repeatedly sexually abused from 1997 to 2001.
It isn't clear where Ross lives. He does not have a telephone listing in St. Louis.
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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com