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Former Priest Pleads No Contest to Indecent Exposure

By Scott Nunn
Huron Daily Tribune
January 23, 2020

https://www.michigansthumb.com/news/article/Former-priest-pleads-no-contest-to-indecent-14999215.php

BAD AXE — Former priest and Port Austin resident Lawrence Ventline, 70, pleaded no contest to indecent exposure Jan. 15.

Ventline had been charged following a complaint made by an area business that he had exposed himself. He was scheduled for jury trial Jan. 28.

According to Huron County Prosecutor Timothy Rutkowski, the complainant stated that Ventline walked around the business for approximately 10 minutes exposing himself. Rutkowski said he had a video clip of the incident from the surveillance that was about 30 seconds in duration. In his statements to the police Ventline alleged the exposure was due to a medical issue.

Ventline, a former Catholic priest with the Archdiocese of Detroit, was temporarily removed from the ministry in 2016.

Prior to that restriction, he had not been assigned to full-time parish ministry for nearly 20 years, having last served in a full-time role from 1996-97 as an administrator at the St. Mark Parish in Harsens Island.

His last assignment as a pastor was at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Lake Orion from 1987-1990.

Ventline was previously accused of sexually assaulting a young boy, though he was never criminally charged or found guilty of sexual assault. At the time the attorney general’s office was seeking charges against five catholic priests. The attorney general had dropped the charges against Ventline due to the statute of limitations.

"Unfortunately, the statute of limitations bars us from prosecuting Mr. Ventline for any crimes we believe he may have committed," Michigan AG Dana Nessel previously stated in a news release. "However, the action by the Michigan Board of Counselors ensures that he cannot use his counseling license to lure in and abuse vulnerable patients, including young children."

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs revoked Ventline’s counseling license in September, and fined him $5,000.

The charge Ventline pleaded no contest to is a one-year misdemeanor. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 6.

 

 

 

 

 




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