Minnesota Catholic priest accused of sexual, physical and psychological abuse of woman

A central Minnesota Roman Catholic priest has been charged with sexually and physically assaulting a woman who had received his spiritual guidance.

Joseph Paul Herzing, 61, of Milaca was charged Wednesday in Stearns County District Court with one count each of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and stalking, and three counts of threats of violence in connection with the abuse and intimidation that spanned from 2018 to 2022.

The Minnesota Star Tribune contacted Herzing on Friday for a response to the allegations, and he said, “I’ve been told I can’t say anything.”

Herzing, who said he has yet to retain legal counsel, declined to reveal who told him to keep quiet about the case. In the meantime, he is charged by summons and has a Dec. 29 court date scheduled.

Prosecutors say that in August 2024 St. Cloud police began investigating the reported sexual abuse of the woman, who also alleged physical and psychological abuse inflicted by Herzing while he was a priest in Little Falls and in St. Cloud.

The start of the investigation came nearly two years after the St. Cloud Diocese sent Herzing to treatment for what it said was “inappropriate boundaries” with the woman, the charges read.

In response to an inquiry from the Star Tribune, the diocese released a statement Friday detailing how it says it has dealt with the allegations against Herzing, including on Wednesday when Bishop Patrick Neary “prohibited him from all public ministry pending the outcome of the judicial process.”

After treatment and the placement of other safeguards, the statement continued, Herzing resumed active ministry in February 2023 in Cold Spring, Rockville, Richmond and Jacobs Prairie.

In June 2024, he was appointed pastor of a five-church community in Browerville, Clarissa, Grey Eagle, Long Prairie and Swanville.

Herzing was ordained as a priest in 1999 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud, leading to his service in many churches throughout the diocese.

The Morrison County Record community newspaper featured Herzing in 2017 for his unconventional approach when he was pastor for various churches in the Little Falls area — most notably his shoulder-length hair and frequent rides around the area on his motorcycle.

According to the criminal complaint:

The encounters flared into violence, including in February 2022, when he choked and threatened to kill the woman.

In May 2022, she walked from her home to a river in St. Cloud while contemplating suicide. Herzing persuaded her to come back home, where she saw Herzing receive a text message she suspected showed he was engaged in an intimate relationship.

When she confronted him, Herzing choked her and wrestled her to the ground, pulled her hair and threatened to kill her.

In August 2022, Herzing took the woman on a motorcycle ride to a public event in Milaca, where the two “got into a physical altercation.”

On the ride home, he threatened to ride into a tree and kill them both. At one point, he drove toward an oncoming semitrailer truck before swerving out of its path just in time.

“Records indicate that [Herzing] admitted to kissing [the woman] on two occasions but denied having a spiritual guidance relationship with her,” the charges read.

Bishop Neary said he encourages all victims of abuse to come forward to law enforcement or advocates within his diocese on their behalf.