BishopAccountability.org

More charges likely in Catholic sex-abuse investigation, attorney general says

By Julie Mack
Grand Rapids Press
June 18, 2019

https://bit.ly/2Xl7d3q

Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks during a press conference on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019 at the Frank Kelley Law Library in the Williams Building in Lansing. Nessel gave updates on Michigan State University, catholic church and Flint water investigations.
Photo by Jake May

The state is continuing its investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests and more criminal charges are likely to be filed, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.

“We’re continuing to review documents and information, including information we’ve received on our tip line,” Nessel said during a visit to Kalamazoo Monday. “I think we’ll be seeing some additional charges.”

She praised state lawmakers for their support of more funding for the investigation. “That’s very helpful,” she said, allowing her office to have more staff dedicated to the statewide investigation, which began in August 2018 under then-Attorney General Bill Schuette.

That investigation is looking into alleged sexual abuse by Catholic priests dating back to 1950 in Michigan’s seven Catholic dioceses, including cases that were possibly covered up by church leaders.

Last month, Nessel announced charges that five men who were priests in Michigan have been charged with 21 counts of criminal sexual conduct.

Members of the Attorney General’s clergy abuse investigative team have been working to review hundreds of tips and hundreds of thousands of pages of documents seized in simultaneous raids on Michigan’s seven Catholic dioceses in 2018.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Nessel said at the May press conference announcing the charges. “This is about taking on large-scale institutions that turn a blind eye to victims and making certain we hold all of them accountable – that includes unapologetically pursuing any and all individuals who abuse their power by victimizing our residents.”

In Michigan, there is no statute of limitations for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, but for all other degrees of criminal sexual conduct, a suspect can be charged only within 10 years of the crime or by the alleged victim’s 21st birthday, whichever occurs later.

Contact: jmack1@mlive.com




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