SAGINAW (MI)
Church Militant
September 4, 2018
By Christine Niles, M.St. (Oxon.), J.D.
Fr. Robert DeLand pled no contest to multiple felony counts of sexual misconduct
SAGINAW, Mich. (ChurchMilitant.com) – Saginaw priest Fr. Robert DeLand is pleading as charged to multiple counts of sexual assault of young males.
DeLand was arrested twice earlier this year in two separate cases involving sex abuse of young men. The 71-year-old priest was judicial vicar and served as a judge on the marriage tribunal for the Saginaw diocese. In district court before Judge Darnell Jackson Tuesday, DeLand pleaded no contest to all six felony charges and one misdemeanor, foregoing a jury trial that had originally been scheduled to start Wednesday.
In comments to Church Militant, Assistant Prosecutor Mark Gaertner said DeLand probably pled that way “because of the quality of the investigation. It was professional, it was fair, we put a high emphasis n the audio and video recordings because we knew that would be the damning evidence.”
One of the victims, a 17-year-old, had cooperated with law enforcement, allowing himself to be wired during a covert operation. The audio recordings captured conversations in which DeLand offered him alcohol and illegal drugs.
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