5 more people allege abuse by priest, Iowa diocese says
September 15th, 2016 by Ric Hanson
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Sioux City Diocese says five more people have made allegations of years-ago sexual abuse by a now deceased priest. The Sioux City Journal reports that the diocese also confirmed Wednesday that it has reached a settlement with the man who first came forward with allegations against the Rev. Peter Murphy, who served in several northwest Iowa parishes from the 1950s through the 1970s.
Spokeswoman Kristie Arlt says Bishop Walker Nickless is reaching out to the people who’ve contacted the diocese since June, when the diocesan newspaper asked readers for information about sexual misconduct by Murphy, who died in 1980.
Allegations originally surfaced when the now 69-year-old man wrote to Blessed Sacrament Parish in Sioux City about sexual abuse by Murphy when the man was a 12-year-old altar boy.