Former St. Cloud police chaplain charged with sexual assault

A former chaplain for the St. Cloud Police was arrested Wednesday night and is accused of sexually assaulting a victim almost a decade ago.

According to the police report, the former chaplain was arrested for 1st degree criminal sexual conduct which had occurred with the victim in early 2000 in St. Cloud.

He gave statements to police concerning multiple counts of criminal sexual contact with a female victim during an 18-month period. He is currently being held in the Stearns County Jail.

Sgt. Marty Sayre said that in an effort to protect the victim's identity, no information about her will be released.

Sayre said the ex-chaplain was a volunteer police chaplain from approximately 1997 to 2005.

"He was a very inactive member for several years," Sayre said. "He was always kind of a backup if we needed a chaplain and the on-call chaplain wasn't available."

A police chaplain's duties include notifying families when a relative has died and going on ride-alongs with officers.

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