Catholic school official arrested on child sex charges

MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press

By Katrease Stafford, Detroit Free Press November 26, 2014

The admissions director at a Catholic preparatory high school in Macomb County was arrested today on charges of child sexual abuse, authorities said.

Joseph Peter Sturza, 47, of Macomb Township, was arraigned this morning on several felony charges that were authorized after parents of a student at the Austin Catholic Academy in Ray Township intercepted emails sent by Sturza to their child, the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The sheriff’s office said the emails were sexually graphic and indicative of child sexual-abuse.

After finding the emails, the student’s parents alerted the school and the Archdiocese of Detroit, which called in the sheriff’s department. The investigation was launched Nov. 19 and an arrest warrant was authorized Tuesday by the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.

At 7 a.m. this morning, detectives served the arrest warrant and searched Sturza’s home.

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