# St. Elizabeth Ann Seton *Place of ministry in Hastings, Dakota County, Minnesota* St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, in [[Hastings]], Dakota County, [[Minnesota]], enters the Minnesota record through one matter. In 1985, [[Francis Hoefgen]] was returned to active ministry there, after he had admitted in 1984 to abusing a teenager at a parish in [[Cold Spring]] and had been sent to a treatment facility in Maryland.[^1][^2] The Dakota County allegations later brought against Hoefgen arose from that 1985 placement.[^1][^2] Hoefgen was charged in May 2014, 29 years after the placement.[^1] A Dakota County jury acquitted him on May 26, 2015.[^2] After the verdict, [[Backstrom]] said: "I said to this jury over and over again that there was no investigation."[^2] The record does not establish who made the 1985 assignment. It also does not establish what review, if any, preceded it.[^1][^2] ## Who - **Francis Hoefgen.** He admitted in 1984 to abusing a teenager at a Cold Spring parish and was sent to a Maryland treatment facility. In 1985 he was returned to active ministry at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.[^1][^2] - **A Dakota County jury.** It acquitted Hoefgen on May 26, 2015.[^2] - **Backstrom.** After the acquittal, Backstrom said that he had told the jury "over and over again that there was no investigation."[^2] The record compiled here does not state Backstrom's role in the case.[^2] ## When - **1984:** Hoefgen's admission concerning a teenager at a parish in Cold Spring.[^1][^2] - **1985:** Hoefgen was returned to active ministry at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings.[^1][^2] - **May 2014:** Hoefgen was charged in Dakota County.[^1] - **May 26, 2015:** A Dakota County jury acquitted Hoefgen.[^2] ## Where - **Hastings, Dakota County.** St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is in Hastings. The Dakota County allegations arose from the placement there.[^1][^2] - **Cold Spring.** The 1984 admission concerned a parish in Cold Spring.[^1][^2] - **Maryland.** After the 1984 admission, Hoefgen was sent to a treatment facility in Maryland.[^1][^2] ## In the at-issue record The project's Dakota at-issue record (entry AI-Dakota-098) sets out the following sequence as dated facts:[^1][^2] 1. The 1984 admission. 2. The treatment placement in Maryland. 3. The 1985 return to active ministry in Hastings. 4. The May 2014 charge. 5. The May 26, 2015 acquittal. 6. Backstrom's statement after the verdict. The two sources the entry rests on are the news report of the charge and the archived report of the verdict.[^1][^2] ## Notes [^1]: CBS News Minnesota, *Ex-Hastings priest charged with assaulting boy* (2014) — reports the May 2014 charge against Hoefgen. It is one of the two sources of the project's account of the 1984 admission, the Maryland treatment placement, and the 1985 return to ministry at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/ex-hastings-priest-charged-with-assaulting-boy/ [^2]: BishopAccountability.org, *archived news report of the jury verdict* (May 26, 2015) — reports the Dakota County jury's acquittal of Hoefgen on May 26, 2015, and the post-verdict statement attributed to Backstrom. It is one of the two sources of the project's account of the 1984 admission and the 1985 placement. https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2015/05_06/2015_05_26_Unze_JuryFinds.htm