Priest Admits to Abusing Several Teens Decades Ago

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A priest at the center of a lawsuit against church officials in the Twin Cities and Winona admits he sexually abused 12 teens from the 1960s to the mid-1980s.

In a sworn deposition released Wednesday, Thomas Adamson says when he was confronted, church leaders sent him to other parishes or treatment, but didn't ask about other victims.

An attorney for one of Adamson's alleged victims says records show Adamson abused 40 people - and there may be more who haven't come forward.

Adamson is involved in a lawsuit that alleges the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese and the Winona diocese created a public nuisance by keeping names of accused priests secret.

Adamson's attorney had no comment. Church spokesmen didn't immediately return messages.

Adamson was removed from ministry in 1985 and defrocked in 2009.