Former high school priest sentenced to 40 years for 6 counts of criminal sexual conduct

MICHIGAN
MLive

By Benjamin Raven | braven@mlive.com

JACKSON, MI — A former Jackson Lumen Christi High School priest was sentenced to 40 years in prison before a barrage of cameras, friends and families of his victims.

The sentence came Friday, April 29, in a Jackson County Circuit courtroom after six of James Rapp’s victims provided more than two hours of gripping, detailed testimonials of how the former priest and coach abused them and affected their lives.

Some remained anonymous, but others made the choice to make themselves known in court.

Photos of victims were placed on a table in front of Jackson County Circuit Judge Susan Beebe and in plain sight of Rapp, his attorney Alfred Brandt and Assistant Attorney General Angela Povilaiti, who prosecuted the case.

All but one of the photos were black and white and ranged in date from the 1970s to the early 1990s. They represent the victims at the age they were abused by Rapp.

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