Former Michigan Catholic priest charged with additional child sexual abuse charges

By Justine Lofton
MLive.com
March 11, 2020

https://www.mlive.com/news/2020/03/former-michigan-catholic-priest-charged-with-additional-child-sexual-abuse-charges.html

A former Catholic priest who allegedly abused his power to sexually abuse children while working in the Upper Peninsula was arraigned on more criminal sexual conduct charges on Tuesday, March 10.

Gary Allen Jacobs, 74, was arraigned on two additional criminal sexual conduct cases that he reportedly committed in the early 1980s while serving as a priest under the Catholic Diocese of Marquette in the Upper Peninsula, the Michigan Department of Attorney General announced.

In January, Jacobs was charged with seven counts of criminal sexual conduct in three separate cases that allegedly occurred in Ontonagon and Dickinson counties, the release said.

Two more victims came forward after the original charges were announced, the release said. Both cases arise from his allegedly abuse of his authority status as the victims’ priest. The incidents reportedly occurred between Jan. 1, 1981 and Dec. 31, 1984 in Ontonagon County.

In the two new cases, Jacobs is charged with three criminal sexual conduct counts: two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child between the ages of 13 and 15, and one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child between the ages of 13 and 15.

Each first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge is punishable by up to life in prison and a lifetime of electronic monitoring, while the second-degree criminal sexual conduct charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Jacobs now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was arrested in New Mexico on Jan. 17 for the three previously charged cases of criminal sexual conduct, the release said. Jacobs voluntarily returned to Michigan to be arraigned on the new charges.

“The progress this office is making with regard to clergy abuse is encouraging, though troubling at the same time,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. “As my investigators continue to uncover more potential suspects, my thoughts are with the growing number of victims who have also come forward. My team will continue to talk with those who allege clergy abuse and conduct our investigations thoroughly as we pursue the truth.”

Jacobs is scheduled for a preliminary conference at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23, and a preliminary exam at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, March 30, both in Ontonagon County District Court. The court denied Jacobs bond, but it will be addressed again at the preliminary examination.