DETROIT (MI)
WXYZ TV
Jul 30, 2019
By Kim Russell
A local woman says a Catholic priest abused her as a child. Tuesday, she burned a book just outside the Archdioceses of Detroit Headquarters, then told her story publicly for the first time.
Jeanne Hunton stood with supporters outside the Detroit Archdiocese headquarters. She burned a book published by a priest recently. She then told her story of that priest.
“I was a 14-year-old,” she said. “I had taken a summer job.”
Hunton says it happened in the summer of 1977 while she worked as a housekeeper at a metro Detroit rectory. She says the priest – who has not been charged with any crime – sexually abused her. She didn’t tell anyone for decades.
“I held it in all those years because I was ashamed,” Hunton said. “I was embarrassed.”
She says she reported it to Detroit police in 2010, but learned the statute of limitations had passed. She filed another report this year with Michigan State Police when State Attorney General Dana Nessel called on people to come forward. She is hoping her story gives credibility to anyone else who is a victim who comes forward and complains about the same priest.
“I am sad for all the people out there who are still afraid to come forward,” Hunton said. “They need to get that burden off their shoulders. It is not their shame to carry.”
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