CLINTONVILLE (WI)
WKOW [Madison, WI]
August 27, 2025
By Evan Bolin
The Diocese of Madison is acknowledging there was a complaint filed in 2021 against Fr. Andrew Showers, the priest who is now charged with child sex crimes in Waupaca County.
Showers was arrested in Clintonville and faces charges of attempted use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, attempted child enticement-exposing intimate parts and attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child.
He is out of jail after posting bond and will appear in Waupaca County Court on September 30.
In a note to parishioners Wednesday night, Bishop Donald Hying said a review of diocesan files, email messages and phone records revealed that a complaint about Showers was made to the diocese by a parent in December 2021.
Hying said the parent expressed concern about “pastoral questions which were asked of a male middle-school child during the Sacrament of Confession.” The pastor at the time told the parent to report the matter to police if he felt the need to, which the parent did. The parent took the complaint to the Lodi Police Department.
Bishop Hying said police met with the father and child, and determined the incident did not rise to the level of a criminal act. This meant police did not further refer the matter or pursue it with the diocese.
In his note, Hying apologized that the parental complaint was not included in the diocese’s initial communications about the accusations against Showers.
Showers is currently restricted from all public ministry and barred from having contact with minors while the case is ongoing.