MADISON (WI)
WMTV [Madison, WI]
September 2, 2025
By Camberyn Kelley
A family member of the Madison priest accused of child sex crimes expresses anger more than a week after his arrest.
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) -A family member of the Madison priest accused of child sex crimes expresses anger more than a week after his arrest.
“Andrew is my cousin. We are the same age; we graduated the same year,” Brenda Coy said.
Emotions are raw for the 37-year-old.
“Absolutely disgusted, angry. I’m just taken back as a survivor of sexual assault myself and after coming out to this family,” Coy said.
She learned last week that her cousin, priest Andrew Showers, is accused of child sex crimes.
“You don’t always know who someone is growing up or who they were in the past, but true colors really come out and sometimes it takes a certain instance for it to come out,” she said.
Coy said she felt a sense of relief when she heard Showers was arrested after an undercover operation where Clintonville police posed as a teenage girl.
“I’m so grateful to the police department for doing things like this for going undercover and catching people before another child is hurt or before a child does get hurt,” Coy said.
As a mom, she wants other parents to pay attention to their child’s behavior.
“They could be a teacher, a priest, they could be your aunt, your uncle, your cousin. They could be anybody, it doesn’t matter,” Coy explained.
As a survivor she wants others to use their voice and speak up.
“It doesn’t matter who doesn’t believe you. The right people are going to believe you, and they’re going to support you,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if your family doesn’t believe you. My own family doesn’t believe me. I’m OK with that because it’s only made me stronger because I have truly found the right people who support me.”
Coy is also a part of the Sexual Assault Recovery Program in Green County. It’s a thrift store that donates all proceeds to survivors. The organization provides crisis intervention and emotional support.
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