The pastor of St. Peter in Forest Lake has apologized to the victims, the faithful and the community for writing a letter to a judge seeking clemency for a longtime parishioner and parish volunteer convicted and awaiting sentencing for sexual misconduct with two boys while he was a teacher in a public school.
“I made a terrible mistake that has compounded the pain of Jim Carter’s victims, their families and so many others impacted by the sin of sexual abuse,” Father Daniel Bodin said in a Sept. 15 statement. “I have reached out to apologize and have spoken personally with some of the people most affected. I think right now the focus should be on their well-being and I do not want to do anything that could cause more difficulty. My hope is that the next step toward healing occurs when Jim Carter is held accountable for his crimes and sentenced by the court on Friday.”
Father Bodin also expressed his regret and took full responsibility in an open letter dated Sept. 14 and posted on the parish website.
Carter, 58, was found guilty in June of one count of second-degree criminal sexual misconduct with a student between April 2019 and August 2020 at his home, and one count of fourth-degree sexual misconduct for inappropriate contact with another student in December 2018, the Forest Lake Times reported. Carter, who was a Forest Lake Area School District middle school teacher of industrial technology and shop, was sentenced Sept. 16 to a year in jail and 25 years of supervised probation. The judge stayed a four-year prison term in lieu of probation that includes Carter completing a sex offender treatment program, having only court-approved contact with any minor and seeing a therapist trained in treating sex offenders.
Carter also was a volunteer catechist for about eight years at St. Peter. When the allegations were raised in 2020, Carter was removed from that volunteer role and Father Bodin encouraged anyone at the parish or school with information about misconduct by Carter to “please contact law enforcement immediately.”
Father Bodin wrote a letter in July to Washington County District Judge Richard Ilkka, who was presiding over the case, seeking leniency at sentencing.
Father Bodin told the judge that the parish sought any reports of misconduct by Carter and received none, but “only letters of praise and gratitude” for the work he had done instructing and encouraging young people to practice their faith.
On Sept. 14, Father Bodin wrote back to the judge, retracting his letter and asking that he “not consider the contents of my prior letter as you determine the appropriate sentence in this matter.”
At Carter’s sentencing, the mother of one of the two victims said in court that Carter used his position in the community and in the church to lure children, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.
On the parish website, Father Bodin said it was wrong of him to send the first letter and he deeply regretted doing so.
“Child abusers must be held accountable and punishable under the law. Period,” Father Bodin wrote. “Children count on us for protection and I am committed to creating and maintaining safe environments both at our school and in our parish community. My first letter was incompatible with that commitment. I should have known better and foreseen the harm. I am profoundly sorry for the pain caused by my failure.”
Editors’ note: This story was updated Sept. 22.
