Former Priest Convicted of Sexual Abuse Will Live in Lincoln County after Release in June

By Natalie Brophy
Wausau Daily Herald
June 6, 2019

https://www.wausaudailyherald.com/story/news/2019/06/06/wisconsin-priest-abuse-former-priest-live-lincoln-county/1365845001/

David J. Malsch (Photo: Courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections)

A former Northwoods Catholic priest convicted of sexually abusing children will be released into Lincoln County later this month.

Upon his release June 19, David J. Malsch, 80, will live at N4883A Lilac Lane in Gleason, a little over 20 miles east of Merrill, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

Malsch was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1967. He was first accused of sexual abuse while he was working at St. Patrick's in Superior, according to bishopaccountability.org, a website that tracks abuse by Catholic priests. In 1979, Malsch gave two brothers, 12 and 13 years old, alcohol and showed them pornography. He tried to take off the 13-year-old's pants, the Wausau Daily Herald reported. In the early 1980s, he sexually assaulted the younger brother in the rectory of St. Patrick's and paid the boy for nude photos, according to the Daily Herald.

After that, according to Bishop Accountability, he was sent to a church-sponsored treatment center in Minnesota. Later that same year, he was reassigned to St. Joseph's in Rhinelander and two years later, moved to St. Mary's church in Tomahawk.

At St. Mary's, Malsch was allowed to work with children who had emotional and learning problems, according to Bishop Accountability. In 1991, he was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy with learning disabilities. According to a Wausau Daily Herald report from 1999, Malsch took the boy to a hotel in Rib Mountain, gave him alcohol and took nude photos of him. Malsch also showed the boy pornography in the St. Mary's rectory.

Prosecutors in Marathon County charged him in that case and he was convicted of child enticement in 1993, court records show.

Malsch spent time in jail in Indiana and Wisconsin from 1993 to 1995 as part of his sentence and for probation violations, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report. After he was caught sending a sexually-explicit letter to an 18-year-old inmate in 1997, his probation was revoked and he was sent to the Oshkosh Correctional Institute, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Malsch was civilly committed under Wisconsin's sexual predator law in 2001 and sent to a treatment facility for "troubled priests" in Missouri, according to Bishop Accountability. Malsch stayed at the center until 2003, when he was caught with child pornography in his room. In 2005, he was convicted of possessing child pornography and sentenced to nine years in federal prison. He was removed from the priesthood in 2005, according to the website.

After serving his prison sentence, Malsch was still under commitment in Wisconsin. Marathon County Judge Gregory Huber approved a release plan for Malsch in May. Once Malsch is released, he will be on intensive supervision and GPS monitoring. He is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Citizen abuse of this information to threaten, intimidate or harass registered sex offenders will not be tolerated, the sheriff's office said. Malsch's whereabouts are being released not to "increase fear," but to keep the public safe and informed, according to the sheriff's office.