GRAND RAPIDS (MI)
WILX - NBC 10 [Lansing MI]
December 15, 2025
By Kyle Beery and Riley Connell
[See also the full text of AG Nessel’s report, Diocese of Grand Rapids: A Complete Accounting.]
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has released a report detailing allegations of sexual abuse involving dozens of priests from the Diocese of Grand Rapids.
No criminal charges have been issued in connection with the report’s findings.
The 336-page report, released Monday morning, was made public to “acknowledge the reports of abuse from victims and to report the Department’s findings,” according to Nessel’s office. This is the fifth of what will eventually be seven reports detailing sexual assault allegations involving Catholic priests at the six Dioceses and the Archdiocese of Detroit.
In 2018 Nessel’s office executed search warrants at all seven of Michigan’s dioceses, seizing 220 boxes of paper documents and more than 3.5 million digital documents. Monday’s report is a compilation of information obtained from those documents, as well as the AG’s tip line — which was launched immediately following those searches — police and victim interviews, open-source media and other reports of allegations.
Monday’s report names 51 priests who were alleged to have committed sexual misconduct against either children or adults since Jan. 1, 1950.
No criminal charges were filed as a result of the investigation into the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Nessel told reporters Monday that, of the cases that had complainants willing to cooperate in the investigation, many of them either included priests who have died or the statute of limitations had already expired.
Danielle Hagaman-Clark with the AG’s office noted there were cases that fell within the statute of limitations, but had victims that “were not interested in a criminal prosecution.” She said in another case, involving Father Peter Omogo, the department didn’t believe they could prove the elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
But Nessel says accountability “does not end with criminal prosecution.
“Accountability includes transparency, acknowledgement and a commitment to believing in and supporting victims. No matter how much time has passed, survivors deserve to be heard, and by releasing these reports, we hope to honor the courage of victims and ensure their experiences are no longer hidden,” Nessel said, per a press release.
The Diocese of Grand Rapids agreed to provide reports of abuse to the Department of Attorney General. Victims often reach out to their faith leaders to share stories of alleged abuse. The willingness of the Diocese to provide information was “instrumental in the compilation of the report,” officials said.
The report contains detailed descriptions of allegations of sexual abuse and other sexual misconduct, including grooming and misuse of authority against minors and adults. The possible criminal prosecution of many of these allegations is barred by the statute of limitations, or because the accused priest is deceased, or for other allegations because the conduct did not violate Michigan law or the person who alleged the sexual abuse did not wish to pursue criminal charges.
“The information is being released to the public as an acknowledgment to the victims of these alleged crimes and as a public accounting of the resources allocated to the Department of Attorney General to investigate and prosecute clergy abuse,” a Monday press release said. “It is important to note that a criminal charge is merely an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. It is also important to note that the inclusion in this report does not reflect a determination by the Department that the allegations are credible or otherwise substantiated or indicative of a crime.”
The release of Monday’s report on the Diocese of Grand Rapids comes almost exactly one year since the AG’s office released its report regarding the Diocese of Lansing.
During a Monday press conference following the release of the report, Bishop David Walkowiak said the Diocese of Grand Rapids has made a lot of changes over the decades, including the hiring of a victim assistance coordinator and engaging in multiple child safety audits.
“While it is difficult for our church to face the harsh reality contained in this report, it provides a necessary opportunity for us to pledge to do better and move forward in the light of Christ,” he said.
Walkowiak added, the Diocese will continue to make positive changes to help more victims feel comfortable enough to come forward with their stories.
Since launching the initiative in October 2018, criminal charges have been issued in 11 cases across the state. The eleven criminal prosecutions of Catholic priests charged with sexual assault in Michigan by the Attorney General are:
- People v. Joseph “Jack” Baker – Baker, a pastor at St. Perpetua Parish in Waterford and at St. Mary Parish in Wayne and an associate pastor at Sacred Heart in Dearborn and at St. Hugo of the Hills Parish in Bloomfield Hills, was sentenced to 3-15 years’ incarceration in March of 2023 on one count of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. A jury found Baker guilty of sexual penetration with a person under 13 for a 2004 rape. The charge against Baker came about as a result of a referral from the Archdiocese of Detroit, which received the original report and immediately reported it to the lead prosecutor on Attorney General Nessel’s clergy abuse team in 2019.
- People v. Gary Berthiaume – Berthiaume, a priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wyandotte and later Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington, was sentenced to 17 months to 15 years’ incarceration on two counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and one count of Gross Indecency in January 2022. Berthiaume pled guilty to the CSC charges and no contest to the gross indecency in 2021. Berthiaume sexually abused three children between the ages of 13 and 15 in the 1970s. He was arrested in 1977 for sexual assault of two other minor children and served time in the Oakland County Jail for these crimes, before being transferred by the church to the Diocese of Cleveland.
- People v. Patrick Casey – Casey, a priest at St. Theodore of Canterbury Parish in Westland, was sentenced in November of 2019 to 45 days’ incarceration and one year of probation on one count of Aggravated Assault. Casey pled to the charge as a jury deliberated one count Third-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct for initiating oral sex with an adult attempting to make confession to him in 2013.
- People v. Joseph Comperchio – Comperchio, a church organist and Catholic school drama and music teacher at St. John Catholic School in Jackson who held himself out to be a Catholic brother, was sentenced to 10-30 years’ incarceration on one count of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and three counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. Comperchio pled guilty to each count in June of 2021, he had been originally charged with two counts of First-Degree CSC and nine counts of Second-Degree CSC for sexual abuse of four minor children, some as young as nine-years-old, in the 1970s. Comperchio died from natural causes in 2022 while serving his sentence.
- People v. Timothy Crowley – Crowley, a priest at St. Thomas Rectory in Ann Arbor, was sentenced in November 2023, to one year incarceration and five years’ probation on two counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. Crowley pled guilty in August 2023, and was originally charged with four felony counts of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and four felony counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct for sexually abusing a minor child three decades ago.
- People v. Vincent DeLorenzo – DeLorenzo, a priest at Holy Redeemer Church in Burton, was sentenced to one year in jail and five years’ probation in June of 2023 on one count of Attempted First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. DeLorenzo pled guilty to sexually assaulting a five-year-old boy following a service he officiated for the boy’s deceased family member in 1987. DeLorenzo died in January 2024 while serving his sentence.
- People v. Gary Jacobs – Jacobs, a priest in the Diocese of Marquette active in Dickinson and Ontonagon Counties, was sentenced to 8-15 years’ incarceration on three counts of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and two counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. Jacobs pled guilty to each count, admitting to abusing five children under the age of 16 in the Upper Peninsula during the 1980s. In total, there were 11 complaints of abuse by children against Jacobs.
- People v. Roy Joseph – Joseph, a priest in Marquette County, was charged with one count of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct in January of 2020 for a 2006 assault. He is awaiting extradition from India.
- People v. Neil Kalina – Kalina, a priest at St. Kiernan Catholic Church in Shelby Township, was sentenced to 7-15 years’ incarceration in July 2022 on two counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. A jury found Kalina guilty of sexually assaulting a child aged 14 in 1984. Kalina is set to be resentenced in Macomb County Circuit Court on January 9, 2025.
- People v. Brian Stanley – Stanley, a priest at St. Margaret’s Catholic Church in Otsego, was sentenced in January of 2020 to 60 days’ incarceration and five years’ probation on one count of Attempted False Imprisonment. Stanley pled guilty in January 2020 to immobilizing a teenage boy by wrapping him tightly in plastic wrap and using masking tape as additional binding to cover the child’s eyes and mouth, leaving him bound and alone in the janitor’s room for an extended period of time before returning and eventually letting him go in 2013.
- People v. Jacob Vellian – Vellian, a priest at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Benton Harbor, was charged in May of 2019 with two counts of rape under the previous criminal sexual assault statutes. In November 2023, the Department was notified that Vellian likely passed while awaiting extradition from India but is awaiting formal confirmation from the Department of State of his death.
In addition to the paper and digital documents seized from the dioceses, information is also received through the Attorney General’s clergy abuse tip line. The tip line has generated 1,228 tips related to abuse, leading to many police investigations, at least 180 victim interviews, and more than 285 police reports.
For Grand Rapids, the investigation yielded 105 tips to the AG tipline; 27 those were provided directly from the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Of the 220 boxes of paper documents that were seized from the Archdiocese and the six Dioceses, 60 boxes containing approximately 150,000 documents were reviewed related to the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Of the 3.5 million electronic documents seized, 271,975 documents were reviewed related to the Diocese of Grand Rapids.
Information can be shared via the investigation hotline at 844-324-3374 or by email.
For more information on the Attorney General’s clergy abuse investigation or to submit information, visit the department’s website.
Victims of sexual abuse and/or assault in need of additional resources should contact 855-VOICES4.