Preliminary exam for Macomb man charged with child sexual abuse activity adjourned

By Matthew Fahr
Voice
December 10, 2014

http://www.voicenews.com/articles/2014/12/10/news/doc5488850351fb8214435746.txt

Joseph Sturza stands with his attorney Tom Stotz at a preliminary hearing before 42-1 District Court Judge Denis LeDuc Tuesday morning.

A preliminary hearing for a Macomb Township man accused of inappropriate computer interactions with a student while working as Director of Admissions at Austin Academy was postponed Tuesday morning.

Proceedings in 42-1 District Court against Joseph Sturza were postponed by Judge Denis LeDuc until Feb. 18, 2015 in order to allow more time for discovery in the case.

Sturza, who was also a youth minister at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Macomb Township, faces four counts including child sexual abuse activity.

He is no longer with St. Isidore or Austin Academy and has posted a $50,000 bond since his Nov. 26 arrest.

The remaining charges still pending are two counts of communicating with another person to commit a crime and accosting children for immoral purposes. The child sexual activity charge is a 20-year felony.

No new details of the case were revealed before LeDuc.

Both sides are waiting on forensic evidence from three computers seized in the investigation.

Macomb County Prosecutor William Harding agreed with defense attorney Thomas Stotz that it will take at least until the middle of next January for any conclusive evidence to be provided from the computers.

A pre-exam conference was set for Jan. 29 and the preliminary exam was rescheduled for Feb. 18 at 9 a.m.

Sturza’s arrest stemmed from a call to the Macomb County Sheriff’s department from the Archdiocese of Detroit after a child was sent an electronic communication that was intercepted by the child’s parents.

A news release from the sheriff’s department that came out soon after the arrest described the communication as “sexually graphic and were indicative of child sexual abuse activity.”

Two other parishes Sturza previously worked with in Armada and New Haven were also notified of his arrest.

As part of his bail agreement Sturza must wear a GPS tether, is not allowed on the premises at Austin Academy or any off site events for the school and is not allowed to contact the alleged victim or their family.

An agreement was reached in court that will allow him to retrieve his personal effects from Austin and St. Isidore. Administrators in both buildings must give their permission, Sturza must be accompanied by the investigating officer in the case and both buildings must be empty before he can enter per the agreement.

In addition to his work with the churches, Sturza was also an on-air personality for SHTV, the city of Sterling Heights’ public access channel, until his retirement a few years ago