A volunteer at a Roseville church has been charged with sexually assaulting four young children at the church.
Joshua Alirio Seeman, 50, “is a cognitively delayed adult with a lengthy history of sexual assault accusations against him made by vulnerable adults, and now young children,” according to the criminal complaint filed Friday.
Joshua Alirio Seeman (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
Roseville police were notified by a parent on April 6 that his 5-year-old son had been sexually assaulted by Seeman at King of Kings Lutheran Church on Dale Street near Minnesota 36. Police received reports the next day about three additional victims: a 4-year-old boy, a 5-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy.
It wasn’t known as of Monday whether there were other possible victims. Roseville police are asking people who attend the church to talk to family members who interacted with Seeman, a volunteer at the church for about two years, and contact police if they believe he victimized them, said Deputy Chief Joe Adams.
‘Mr. Josh’ seen in bathrooms
The complaint against Seeman, of St. Paul, gives the following information from police and prosecutors:
On April 6, after a man picked up his son from Sunday school, the boy told his father that his “butt” was hurting.
The child confided in his mother at home that “Josh” told him “that his parents were okay with them going into the bathroom together.” His mother asked if it happened before and he said it had three or four times. About two weeks earlier, the child’s teacher said the boy had been in the bathroom for about 30 minutes, which was unusual.
The child’s parents told another person about the incidents. He informed his family, who are active members of the church, and learned a relative saw “Mr. Josh” walk girls to the bathroom and saw him enter the boy’s bathroom on April 6.
The man also asked his relatives to speak with their children, which led to a woman discussing with her 6-year-old son about “‘right’ and ‘wrong’ behavior from people in his life, like family and church members.” The child told his mother, “Mr. Josh asked me to pull my pants down. Is that wrong?”
Both of the children underwent medical exams at Midwest Children’s Resource Center. The 6-year-old’s mother asked him to use his toy elephant to show what happened in the bathroom stall with Seeman. He pointed to the front and bottom of the elephant’s lower area, “then became distraught and said he forgot.”
The 5-year-old also “did not make any disclosures about inappropriate touches during the exam and said he didn’t remember telling his parents what Seeman had done to him,” the complaint said. “Per medical professionals, ‘It is not uncommon for children who disclose sexual abuse to be uncomfortable discussing it in an interview setting. His spontaneous disclosure to his father raises significant concern for sexual abuse.’”
Parents say he also contacted them about babysitting
The mother of another child, a 5-year-old girl, said her daughter hadn’t been allowing her to wipe her “private area” during baths on Sundays over the past month or two, saying they hurt. She asked her daughter about “Mr. Josh” and the girl told her he brought her and another 5-year-old girl to the bathroom. She said he wouldn’t let either of them shut the door when they used the toilet and he looked at them.
During the girl’s exam, she reported that Seeman took her to the bathroom and used his hand to touch the outside and inside of her vagina.
The mother of the girl also spoke to her 4-year-old son and he told her “Mr. Josh” touched his penis and buttocks, “then got very emotional and broke down saying he forgot what happened,” the complaint said.
The parents of two of the children said Seeman had contacted them previously about babysitting for them. He also asked about taking some of the children bowling.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged Seeman with two counts of first-degree and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.
No one could be reached at King of Kings Lutheran Church in Roseville for comment as of Monday afternoon.
Prosecution declined in past cases
Seeman was arrested on Thursday. His brother is his legal guardian and told police they weren’t allowed to interview him, and he would seek an attorney’s advice on his brother’s behalf.
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Seeman remained jailed as of Monday. His attorney couldn’t immediately be reached.
Police received sexual assault reports about Seeman in 2001, 2006, 2014, 2015 and 2022.
“Prosecution on all but one prior case has been declined due to Seeman’s cognitive disability,” the complaint said, adding that there were “multiple attempts” to get help for Seeman.
He was charged with fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2022 involving a woman who was previously a friend of Seeman’s and who has the “cognitive functioning level of a child,” the criminal complaint in that case said. She reported it happened in the bathroom of a White Bear Lake park.
After evaluation by a psychologist, a judge ruled he was incompetent to proceed with the legal matter “due to mental illness or cognitive impairment,” according to a court document. A “forensic navigator” was appointed to provide services for Seeman with “the goal of attaining his competence” for the court case to continue, the document said.
Last week, before learning of the current case, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office filed a notice of intent to prosecute in the 2022 case.
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