St. Louis, Mo., Aug 30, 2022 / 15:00 pm
A priest ministering in St. Louis — previously accused of abuse before prosecutors dropped all charges — will have his 2014 arrest record expunged after a judge’s ruling last week.
Father Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang, 39, had been accused of two separate instances of sexual abuse, but prosecutors dropped all charges in both cases. Jiang also prevailed in two civil lawsuits related to the accusations.
Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser ruled Aug. 25 that Jiang had met the legal burden to have his 2014 arrest expunged. Jiang said during his hearing that he is currently studying in Rome and that his arrest record has caused problems for him at customs checkpoints when traveling abroad.
Jiang, a native of Shandong, China, was ordained a priest in St. Louis in 2010. He was first publicly accused of abuse in 2012 when a 16-year-old girl brought a civil lawsuit alleging that the priest had groped her. Jiang denied the charges, and a jury found in his favor in 2017.