Woman Alleges She Was Abused Decades Ago at Waite Park School

WAITE PARK (AP) -- A woman has filed a lawsuit against a Catholic school in Waite Park alleging she was sexually abused as a young girl by a family that runs the school as well as a priest assigned to it.

A complaint filed by the unidentified woman in Stearns County District Court names Holy Innocents' School, a private school not affiliated with the Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud. The woman says she endured ``ritual sexual abuse'' as a student from 1978 to 1984 when she was 5 to 11 years old.

The complaint says five members of the family that run the school and a priest who has since died abused the woman. School spokeswoman Theresa Carlstedt says the allegations are unfounded accusations. She says the school is seeking legal representation.