DULUTH — Leaders of a local church were warned about their obligation to report allegations of child sexual abuse to authorities several years before investigators learned of the full scope of a member’s crimes, according to a new report.

But even with the benefit of hindsight, Deputy St. Louis County Attorney Jon Holets said he doesn’t believe police and prosecutors could have handled the case against Clint Franklin Massie any differently.

“Child sexual abuse cases are always challenging,” Holets told the News Tribune this week. “This case presented even greater challenges and pressures on victims.”

An investigation into Massie and the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church was published last week by ProPublica, a national, nonprofit investigative journalism outlet, in conjunction with the Mi

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