St. Louis Archbishop Carlson said he’s not sure he knew sexual abuse was a crime

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson claimed to be uncertain that he knew sexual abuse of a child by a priest constituted a crime when he was auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, according to a deposition released Monday.
During the deposition taken last month, attorney Jeff Anderson asked Carlson whether he knew it was a crime for an adult to engage in sex with a child.

"I'm not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not," Carlson replied. "I understand today it's a crime." Carlson, who turns 70 at the end of this month, was auxiliary bishop in St. Paul and Minneapolis from 1984-1994.

Anderson went on to ask Carlson whether he knew in 1984, when he was an auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, that it was crime for a priest to engage in sex with a child.