Former (St. Paul-Minneapolis) Vicar General Kevin McDonough deposed in clergy sex abuse case

Shelby Capacio
Fox9 Minneapolis
April 16, 2014

On Wednesday, another top official from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was in the hot seat, testifying in a court-ordered deposition about clergy sex abuse.

Former Vicar General Kevin McDonough was questioned by attorney Jeff Anderson and his Team in downtown St. Paul as they continue to determine how the church handled allegations of abuse against priests.

For years, McDonough was the person who handled all of those claims. Earlier this week, a court-ordered task force released a report that said too much power was concentrated with one or two individuals that had little oversight.

Earlier this month, Archbishop John Nienstedt had his own four-hour deposition as part of the Ramsey County court case brought forward bi a victim named only as "John Doe."

In that case, the victim claims he was abused by former priest Tom Adamson during the mid 1970s, and the suit alleges that the abuse occurred after the church already knew Adamson was facing other accusations of sexual misconduct.

The trial is set to start in September, and the judge has ordered the archdiocese to turn over all files relating to priests accused of sexual misconduct.