Jonathan Dean (Illinois activist)
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Jonathan Dean | |
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| Born | Chesterfield, Missouri, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of Minnesota (Public Relations, Quantitative Economics) Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (J.D., cum laude) |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law |
| Occupation | Lawyer, Advocate |
| Known for | Advocacy for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and sexual assault |
Jonathan Dean is an American lawyer, vocal survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and advocate for survivors of sexual assault, and adventurer and outdoorsman.
He is a long-time Chicagoan and lives there with his family.
Background, Education, and Early Life
Jonathan was raised in Chesterfield, Missouri, where he attended Ascension Elementary School, and later attended Chaminade Preparatory School. It was at Ascension that he later alleged that he was sexually assaulted by a priest—Father Gary Wolken—who was the first priest to be convicted and sentenced to jailtime when the clergy abuse crisis was exposed in St. Louis.[1]
Jonathan attended University of Minnesota and graduated with degrees in Public Relations and Quantitative Economics. Between undergraduate and law school, he was an advocate for children and families in the Twin Cities area, working for Children’s Safety Centers and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities.
Jonathan graduated cum laude from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago in 2013, where he served as a research assistance to several prominent professors, including Ronald Allen, Andrew Koppelman, and John McGinnis. During law school, Jonathan interned at the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Legal Career
After graduating law school, Jonathan worked for three years at a litigator at boutique law firm Donohue Brown & Smyth. He later litigated for ArentFox Schiff LLP for the greater part of nine years, from 2016-2025. At AFS, he litigated cases nationwide in state and federal courts, as well as represented clients before the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Lawsuit against Archdiocese of St. Louis
In March 2018, Jonathan filed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of St. Louis alleging that he had been sexually assaulted by a priest—Father Gary Wolken—when he was 10 and 11 years old while attending Ascension Elementary School in Chesterfield. Despite numerous public statements by the Archdiocese of their remorse for the child sexual abuse scandal, the attorneys for the Archdiocese vigorously litigated against Jonathan for years. The attorneys attacked him in his deposition, which lasted an entire day until 8pm at night, and sought to insinuate he was purposefully making up his claims.[2]
Towards the end of the case, the Archdiocese sought to get the case dismissed on several grounds, including that the church had no notice that Fr. Wolken was predisposed to sexually assault children and was a danger to children and on the basis that Jonathan’s attorneys did not disclose a litigation expert to substantiate his allegations that his memory had been involuntarily repressed (i.e., dissociated) since the time the abuse occurred.[2]
Jonathan and the Archdiocese eventually entered into a public settlement agreement on June 6, 2023 for $1 million. It was the highest settlement amount ever awarded to an adult arising from the clergy abuse crisis in St. Louis and second highest settlement ever arising out of the clergy abuse crisis in St. Louis.[3]. However, neither Jonathan’s attorney nor the attorneys for the Archdiocese notified the Court, who acted on the Archdiocese’s motion for summary judgment, granting it, on June 7, 2023. The order was later vacated in light of the settlement.[2]
Press Conference Regarding Lawsuit and Settlement
On November 9, 2023, Jonathan gave a public press conference regarding the settlement. The press conference was notable and unique in that survivors of the clergy sex abuse scandal (and of sexual assault generally) rarely speak publicly.[3]. It was widely covered in the St. Louis media.
Jonathan extensively discussed that statutes of limitation for childhood sexual abuse claims are bad public policy, for several reasons, including that established science supports the fact that child victims usually repress their memories of trauma until decades later, making the existence of a statute of limitations, which is an arbitrary time frame to file a lawsuit, non-sensical. Because a survivor’s recovery journey does not have any logical or legal relationship with an arbitrary legal time window, then the law effectively cuts off justice for survivors of childhood trauma, often before they even know they have legal claims or understand the full extent of their legal claims.[4]
The existence of a statute of limitations therefore cuts off the possibility of justice for so many survivors of childhood sexual assault. As a result, it also effectively shields pedophiles from public accountability.[5]
Notable quotes from the press conference include:
- “It is very common for survivors of childhood sexual assault to repress their memories. That is an established scientific fact, and so it begs the question of why does Missouri have any statute of limitations for legal claims arising out of childhood sexual abuse?”[5][6]
- “The fact that Missouri law has a statute of limitations for claims of childhood sexual assault is a political and legal choice to value the comfort and well-being of pedophiles over the lives and well-being of their victims.”[5][6]
- “Dismissing law suits alleging the sexual assault of a child on a legal technicality jeopardizes the protection of children.”[5][6]
- “Lastly, I just want to say that you all know someone, whether you know it or not, who is a survivor of rape of sexual assault. If you are given the opportunity to provide that person or persons support—please take it. If they come to you and tell you what happened to them, how they were victimized, how they were traumatized, how they are struggling—please listen. It will make you uncomfortable, no doubt about it. But by just listening and saying that you are sorry that happened to them, you can make an enormous difference in that survivor’s life. Recognition by another human being is, far and away, the most important recovery that any survivor can get as they seek to recover from the trauma of the sexual assault.”[5][6]
The Archdiocese responded to Jonathan’s press conference as follows:
References
- ↑ Kempf, Stephen. "Father Gary Wolken charged in sexual abuse case". St. Louis Review. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Case.net: 18SL-CC01386 - Case Header". www.courts.mo.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pratt, Pat (2023-11-09). "Survivor of abusive Chesterfield priest shares story to spur legislative change". www.firstalert4.com. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
- ↑ Bogan, Jesse (2023-11-10). "Survivor of clergy sex abuse urges Missouri to remove time limits on filing lawsuits". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Man allegedly sexually abused by St. Louis priest questions why Missouri has statute of limitations against victims of assault". ksdk.com. 2023-11-09. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Jonathan D (2023-12-20). Jonathan Dean Press Conference - Sex Abuse Settlement w/ Archdiocese - Remove Statutes of Limitation. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via YouTube.
External links
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