Fr. Jack Baker Arrested in Michigan, SNAP Applauds AG Investigation

By Jeanne Hunton, Zach Hiner
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
July 8, 2019

https://bit.ly/2JkENyF

For the sixth time in three months, Michigan’s top law enforcement professional has charged a priest with child sex crimes. She predicts more arrests will be made before her investigation is completed.

We are grateful to AG Dana Nessel and her team for their dedication to investigating cases of clergy sex abuse and cover-up, including this one against Fr. Joseph “Jack” Baker. Children and vulnerable adults are safer because of her courage, as well as the bravery of Michigan victims who have come forward to aid in this investigation and who continue to cooperate with secular officials.

There is no doubt in our mind that attorneys general in most other states could be just as successful at uncovering and prosecuting crimes if they were as determined as AG Nessel.  She and her staff spend weekends volunteering to comb through church abuse records. We applaud all of them and hope their example inspires other AGs throughout the country.

For a long time, cases of clergy abuse in Michigan have been stymied and survivors have been denied the chance to expose abusive clergy and complicit church officials in court, thanks to the state’s outdated statute of limitations for filing civil suits for child sex abuse. We hope that legislators in Michigan will take a cue from AG Nessel and use their power to help protect children and support survivors by taking up the issue of SOL reform.

We urge anyone who may have any information or suspicions – whether about Fr. Baker or any other church official – to make a report to police, prosecutors and the attorney general’s office so that communities will be safeguarded and the truth will be revealed.