This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI)– For the first time, a St. Louis archbishop testifies under oath in a criminal case against a priest.

Archbishop Robert Carlson gave a deposition in the criminal case against Father Joseph Jiang.

Jiang is charged with molesting an underage girl in Lincoln County and witness tampering for allegedly offering $20,000 in alleged hush money to the victim’s family.

Archbishop Carlson is accused in a separate civil suit of calling the victim`s mother and asking her to give him the check.

The archdiocese denies those allegations.

They released a statement saying in part:

“The archbishop`s sworn deposition given today to prosecutors is consistent with the archdiocese`s willingness to cooperate fully with authorities in these matters.”