Fr. Richard Van Lente
Named publicly as accused in the MI Attorney General’s 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report. Four women from St. Patrick’s Parish in Portland MI reported to the Diocese in 1985 sexual misconduct by Van Lente. The incidents allegedly included sexual harassment and exposure of his genitals. In 2/1993 a woman told the Diocese that when she was a teenager in the late 1960s Van Lente twice made sexual advances toward her – the first when she was in 7th or 8th grade, the second toward the end of her high school years. Sent to St. Luke Institute for evaluation. Ordered by the bishop to “avoid unsupervised contact with adolescent females.” Retired with restrictions in 9/2006.
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