Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

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Terry McKiernan February 26, 2021

33 Accused in This Diocese

    Fr. Daniel C. Aerts

    Ordained: 1977
    Status: Accused

    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    In 4/2002 Aerts admitted to sexual misconduct with a boy, ages 14-16, in the late 1970s while assigned to St. Thomas and Holy Spirit parishes in Grand Rapids. The boy reportedly had gone to Aerts for counseling due to feelings of same sex attraction, and that Aerts and his male lover introduced him to gay sex, including S&M. He said that another boys, age 16, was also involved. Accused also of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy in 1977 at the Holy Spirit rectory. Apparently the victim Aerts a letter in 2002 and he forwarded it to the Diocese. He resigned from his position. Removed permanently from ministry. The bishop said there was no prior knowledge of abuse. Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Grand Rapids Report. No prosecution due to the statute of limitations.

    Fr. Eugene F. Alvesteffer

    Ordained: 1965
    Status: Accused

    Died: 01/18/1998
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Died 1/18/1998. The Diocese revealed in 5/2002 that Alvesteffer had a substantiated allegation against him of the sexual abuse of a minor which occurred while he was assigned in Ludington in the 1970s. Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 report. In 1984 a woman reported to the Diocese that Advesteffer had sexually abused her son. She died soon thereafter. Alvesteffer denied the allegation. Accused in 12/1992 of abuse of a boy at St. Simon's Parish in 8/1970. In 10/2012 a man reported to the Diocese that Alvesteffer molested him 1970-1978 in the sacristy at St. Bernadette's, beginning when he was age 7.  Another alleged victim was noted by the Diocese in 2010 to have been offered counseling. Per the Diocese in 2019, a man alleged sexual abused by Alvesteffer and Fr. Wagner 1978-1980; the Victims' Assistant Coordinator deemed the allegations credible.

    Fr. Charles Antekeier

    Ordained: 1962
    Status: Accused

    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Retired in 2000. Suspended from ministry in 2003. Accused of soliciting sex 30-40 times from a married adult male in 1994 and 1995, including during confession. The solicitation started after the man confided that he had been sexually abused as a boy. Permanently restricted from ministry in 2006. Permanently removed from ministry in 8/2015 and ordered to lead a 'life of prayer and penance.' In 2005 Antekeier was accused of the sexual abuse, including rape, of a St. James altar boy, ages 8-15, beginning in 1969. The boy is said to have told the school principal, who said he was lying. Further, some of the abuse occurred at times during confession. The alleged victim's father said that, as a result of the abuse, his son was an alcoholic by age 14, became violent and spent time in prison. When he became sober in his 40s, he told his father of the abuse. The father said he told the D.A. and the church, but nothing happened. In 2011 a man reported to the Diocese that Antekeier had taken advantage of his vulnerability in the early 2000s by initiating a sexual relationship, and that he had done this with others. He warned the Diocese that Antekeier was dangerous. In 2014 the Diocese received a report that Antekeier sexually abused a 4th or 5th-grade boy in 1984-1985 while pastor of St. James in Grand Rapids. This accuser said that three men who had been in spiritual counseling with Antekeier died by suicide. No prosecution due to the statute of limitations. Another man alleged physical abuse by Antekeier and being asked about masturbation during confession. In 2015 a man told the Diocese that Antekeier was sexually abused him as a seventh- or eight-grader at St. Francis Xavier School in 1989-1990. A man in 2020 told an A.G. investigator that Antekeier sexually abused him as a young boy and continuing into his young adulthood. In 1990 he lived in the St. Francis Xavier rectory with the priest. Another man alleged in 2021 sexual abuse 1966-1970 by Antekeier and another priest when he was a St. Mary's and St. James altar boy, ages 10-14. He said the priests plied him with alcohol. Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report. 

    Fr. Rock James Badgerow

    Ordained: 1979
    Status: Accused

    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report. Accused in 1993 of sexually abusing a boy, age 15, when he was a freshman at Catholic Central High School. The alleged victim said that he was walking home from the school when Badgerow pulled over in his red jeep and offered him a ride home. The priest allegedly feigned car trouble, then took the boy into the school building and forcibly orally copulated him. Badgerow was at the time assigned to St. Thomas Parish and was known as "really young" and "modern." Badgerow said he didn't remember such an incident and that it may have been the young adult man he he had had a sexual encounter with at a rest stop. In 2004 a man told the Diocese that Badgerow had made sexual passes toward him at St. Patrick's rectory. In 2018 a man reported that Badgerow had recently told him he was attracted to a tenth-grade boy at Sacred Heart Academy, saying, "the older I get the younger I like them. I can't help myself." Badgerow was removed from Sacred Heart but allowed to continue in ministry at St. Ann's Home. He was granted senior priest status in 2023.

    Fr. Louis Baudone

    Ordained: 1959
    Status: Accused

    Died: 05/18/2024
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Included in the 12/15/2025 MI Attorney General's Diocese of Grand Rapids Report. In 4/2002 a woman told the Diocese that her brother, who died by suicide in 1992, was sexually by Baudone at Sacred Heart in Muskegon. She contacted the Diocese after a news article reported that clergy sexual abuse had never happened in Muskegon. The Diocese had paid for her some of brother's therapy and for his funeral. Baudone was the subject of allegations deemed substantiated that he sexually abused two children in 1981 in Muskegon Heights. He was removed from his parish in 1993 due to allegations of child sexual abuse occurring in the early 1970s. Baudone's privileges weren't removed until 7/2002. In 6/2002 a woman reported that Baudone sexually abused her son when he was age 10 and Baudone was assigned to a Lake Odessa parish. The alleged victim told the Diocese in 2003 that Baudone abused him from ages 10-13, during 1979-1981. Accused in 8/2003 of sexually abusing a boy 1976-1980 at St. Edward's in Odessa. Baudone moved to the Diocese of Portland ME around 2004; in 9/2004 the Grand Rapids bishop informed the Portland bishop of allegations. Bauadone was ordered to live a life of prayer and penance. In 1/2008 there was a report that Baudone sexually abused an eight-year-old boy at St. Edward's in 1972, including sodomy. A woman told the A.G.'s office in 9/2018 that when her brother was 11 or 12 in the 1970s, she caught Baudone sexually abusing him. Her brother later died by suicide. She said her parents reported the abuse to the Church and were accused of lying. In 6/2021 a man reported that Baudone "accosted" him in the rectory of St. Patrick's Parish in the mid-to-late 1970s. Baudone died 5/18/2024 in West Paris, ME.

    Fr. Shamaun Beas

    Ordained: 1994
    Status: Convicted

    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report. Extern priest from the Diocese of Faisalabad in Pakistan. Allowed to minister in the Diocese of Grand Rapids after Faisalabad Bishop Coutts asked Grand Rapids Bishop Rose in 1999 to take him. Coutts explained that Beas was the subject of a "big scandal," having had an "affair" with a female high school student, and that it would be best if he left Pakistan. Bishop Coutts also informed Rose of misappropriated a large amount of parish money. Fr. Beas told Rose in a letter that the allegations were false; Rose notified Bishop Faisalabad in 1/2000 that he would accept Beas into the diocese for three years. In 6/2002 the Diocese was notified that there were three complaints from Beas' parish about him: middle school girls were uncomfortable with his putting his arm around them during reconciliation; a married woman said he was calling her at home too often; a woman said he was spending an uncomfortable amount of time with her daughter, who was a recent high school graduate. Beas was sent in Fall 2002 for evaluation, and counseling in early 2003. In a 5/24/2004 internet sting Beas was arrested, charged with soliciting sex from someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. On 5/25/2004 he was placed on leave and his faculties removed. He was convicted and sentenced to 5 to 20 years in 3/2005, and later sentenced to one year for the sexual abuse of a girl. Beas withdrew his guilty plea to additional charges in another county in 7/2008. The girl's sister also alleged abuse. He was sentenced to another 16-24 months in 10/2008 for the abuse of both sisters. Beas was deported to Pakistan in 7/2010. In 9/2018 a woman told the Diocese via phone message that Beas sexually abused her at St. Patrick's in Portland MI. She did not answer attempts by the Diocese to return the call.

    Fr. Vincent W. Bryce

    Order: OP
    Ordained: 1957
    Status: Accused

    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    A man accused Bryce in 4/2002 of abusing him as a boy in about 1977. The complaint was made to the Chicago office of the Dominican Order who notified the Diocese of Grand Rapids, where Bryce was working. Bryce was immediately removed from his assignment and returned to the Order's headquarters. Bryce admitted to the abuse, which occurred in another (unspecified) state. Reported to be living at St. Louis U's Jesuit Hall, but the the Catholic Directories show him to be living at St. Dominic Priory in St. Louis 2003 through at least 2017. Per the Order's St. Albert the Great Province list 4/21/2022, the abuse occurred in the early 1970s at St. Vincent Ferrer in River Forest, IL. Included on the Chicago archdiocese's list in 10/2022. Included in the 5/23/2023 IL Attorney General's Report, which notes one "reported survivor." Died in 2023.

    Fr. Stanislaus Bur

    Ordained: 1950
    Status: Accused

    Died: 02/1/2009
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Ordained for the Diocese of Grand Rapids, incardinated into the Diocese of Saginaw in 1971. Accused in 1992 of molesting an Ionia altar boy in 1958. The Grand Rapids Diocese found the allegations credible and paid up to $1,000/month for the victim's therapy for several years. Suspended from active ministry. In 11/2005 Bur was permanently removed from ministry and given a life of prayer and penance. Additional allegations of old abuse were made public in 3/2008. Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report. Per the report, Bur was accused in 5/2006 of sexually abusing a boy, age 13, and another boy during a road trip in 1967. In 2007 one of the accusers said Bur also sexually abused his cousin. In late 2006 another man told the Diocese that Bur sexually abused him beginning when he was 11 in the late 1950s. He said he was also sexually abused by then-teenage seminarian Richard Lawie at age 14 or 15. In 10/2007 a man alleged Bur sexually abused him beginning when he was age 12 or 13 in 1957 or 1958 in Ionia. The man said he knew of four other people abused by Bur and that all of them became alcoholics. Bur died 2/1/2009.

    Fr. Harold Rudolph Feltman

    Donate Photo
    Ordained: 1955
    Status: Accused

    Died: 08/17/2003
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    In 2004 a woman told the Diocese that Feltman sexually abused her when she was age 15 in 1960, at St. Simon Parish in Ludington. She said she had gone to him for counseling due difficulties at home, including sexual abuse by her father. The abuse by Feltman allegedly occurred over a three-month period. Feltman retired in 1989 and died 8/17/2003.

    Fr. Isidro Tabay Gargantiel

    Ordained: 1968
    Status: Accused

    Died: 04/3/2010
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    From the Philippines, where he was ordained in 1968 in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. Appears to have arrived in the Diocese of Grand Rapids in 1976, where he was incardinated in 8/2002. Died in 2010. Named publicly as accused in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report. Per the report, in 7/2002 a man reported to the Diocese that Gargantiel attempted to solicit him for sex at age 17-18 in 1985. Gargantiel was sent for a psychological evaluation, after which was allowed ministry with supervision by the Vicar for Priests. Another man reported to the Diocese in 2/2004 that when he was in sixth or seventh grade at Holy Trinity in Alpine MI in 1978 or 1979, Gargantiel was "always trying to get the boys alone" and would take him for rides alone in the country. He said that on one occasion Gargantiel was rubbing his [the boy's] head and his [the priest's] genitals through his pants. The boy's parents told the parish pastor and Gargantiel was reassigned. One report to the Diocese alleged that Gargantiel told the alleged victim that he "could not return to the Philippines because he was a naughty boy and the government would get him."

    Fr. Joseph Walter Grill

    Ordained: 1938
    Status: Accused

    Died: 06/22/1994
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    "J. Walter." Monsignor. In 3/1994 the Diocese received an allegation that Grill sexually abused a St. James Parish altar boy, who was age 12 and in seventh grade, on multiple occasions in 1969. Grill denied the allegation. He died in 6/1994. In 1/2004 another man reported that Grill sexually abused him when was a seventh- and eighth-grade altar boy St. James, between 1964 and 1965.

    Fr. Lawrence N. Hartwig

    Ordained: 1967
    Status: Guilty plea

    Died: 09/21/1998
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    "Larry." Reportedly in 5/2002, the Grand Rapids Diocese had substantiated allegations against Hartwig and seven other priests. Hartwig was named in single allegation of abuse occurring in Muskegon in 1982. News reports in 1982 show that Hartwig pleaded no contest to sexual assault on a 16-year-old boy. He was ordered to pay $100 in court costs. Per the Official Catholic Directory, Hartwig was "on duty outside the diocese" beginning in 1987. It shows him as: chaplain at St. Francis Hospital/Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT 1987-1990; chaplain at St. Mary Hospital in Springfield, MA 1990-1991; Director of Pastoral Ministry fo Santa Rosa Health Care in San Antonio, TX 1991-1994. Included in the MI Attorney General's 1/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report. Per 1995 and 1998 diocesan documents, Hartwig was evaluated at "IR" and was living in his home in San Antonio; in 1998 he did not have faculties in San Antonio. He died 9/21/1998. In 2019 the Diocese told the A.G. that Hartwig was accused of making a sexual advance in 1973 on a male high school senior.  

    Fr. Donald J. Heydens

    Ordained: 1970
    Status: Settled

    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report. In the early 1990s the Diocese substantiated allegations that Heydens sexually abused four teenage girls while assigned to St. Francis Xavier Parish in the early 1970s. There were out-of-court settlements in 1989 and 1994. In 1993 fifth woman alleged abused as a teenager by Heydens. Another woman filed suit in 6/1993 alleging Heydens sexually abused her as a teenager in the late 1960s. He was sent in 1993 to the Isaac Ray Center for psychiatric evaluation after which he was removed from parish ministry and restricted to no unsupervised contact with minors. He was allowed to work with the Sisters at Aquinata, in jail ministry, and with the Tribunal. In 2/1994 a woman informed the Diocese that She was sexually abused as an adult by Heydens in summer 1989. A woman told the Diocese in 7/1994 that Heydens sexually abused her when she was in high school, after she had attempted suicide. She said her family told Msgr. Zerfas twice about the abuse, who did nothing, and that she told the school principal, Sr. Edith, who expelled her. Heydens was appointed in 5/2000 to Diocesan Director of the Permanent Diaconate. He was removed from all ministry in 7/2002, after the 6/2002 Dallas Bishops Conference. Assigned to a 'life of prayer and penance.' In 10/2004 another woman reported sexual abuse by Heydens and another priest. In 9/2019 a woman told the Diocese that when she was in high school in the mid-1980s Hedens "stared at her breasts, put his hands on her buttocks, and swiped her breasts." 

     

    Fr. Martin James Hoogterp

    Ordained: 1948
    Status: Accused

    Died: 10/9/1998
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    "James" or "M. James." Died in 1998. Named publicly as accused in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report. In 8/2004 a woman reported to the Diocese that when she was a young teenager 1979-1980 she was sexually abused by Hoogterp at Sacred Heart in Muskegon. She said the abuse included oral sex and intercourse and that he silenced her with threats. The Diocesan Review Board noted in 2004 that there were other allegations, "probably involving a married woman."

    Fr. Richard J. Host

    Ordained: 1974
    Status: Sued

    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    In a civil lawsuit filed in 11/1988 a woman accused Host and her ex-husband of molesting her boys, ages 4 and 6, over a two-year period. The suit also included claims against the USCC and NCCB (Catholic conferences). Host was kept in ministry. The case is included in the MI Attorney General's 12/25/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report, which notes that the suit was dismissed in 1990 after the woman refused to comply with a court order.  She had taken the children out of state and refused the court's orders to return to MI with them. The Diocese's investigation "found nothing to lead us to believe the allegations are true." 

    Fr. Joseph W. Kenshol

    Ordained: 1973
    Status: Settled

    Died: 12/19/2022
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Accused in a 1995 civil lawsuit of giving adolescent boys full body oil massages in the rectory of Sacred Heart Parish. The incidents occurred in 1992 and 1993. The claims were later settled for an undisclosed amount after underlying suits were dismissed by the Court and Appeals Court. The Diocese said that Kenshol's behavior was "immature and inappropriate, indicating poor judgment but nothing more." He was allowed to return to ministry. Kenshol retired to senior priest status in 2013 and died 12/19/2022. Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report. Per the report, one alleged victim said the priest asked him during a massage if he wanted to take off his underwear. Two said Kenshol asked them to massage him, and that vibrators were used.

    Fr. Edward J. Kubiak

    Ordained: 1934
    Status: Accused

    Died: 02/4/2003
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Ordained for the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Assigned 1938-1946 to the Diocese of Superior WI. Named publicly as accused in the 12/15/2025 MI Attorney General's Diocese of Grand Rapids Report. In 1998 a woman told the Diocese that Kubiak and another priest "did stuff" to her son when he was a child 35 years prior, at Guardian Angels in Manistee MI. Kubiak was pastor. The alleged victim told the Diocese in 1999 that he was sexually abused at the church 1965-1967, when he was ages 10-12. He said that Kubiak abused him about twice a week, and that he would be made to sit in a chair, blindfolded, his wrists tied. He said the other priest would observe and that one time his blindfold slipped and he saw the priest touching his genitals. Kubiak denied the abused and said that "several problem priests... had been assigned there." The Diocese investigated and decided to take no further action. Kubiak's accuser had reported the allegations to law enforcement 8-10 years prior who determined the allegations to be "unfounded," reasons unclear.

    Fr. William A. Langlois

    Ordained: 1974
    Status: Accused

    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    St. Patrick-St. Anthony Parish pastor 1996 until retirement in 2016. In 2014 Langlois admitted to a sexual relationship with a woman and took a six-month leave. In 2018 the Diocese received an allegation deemed credible that Langlois sexually abused a minor beginning in 1999 and continuing into the victim's adulthood until 2006. He reportedly began grooming the girl when she was age 12 or 13 in 1994 or 1995. Langlois was removed from ministry during investigations by the Diocese and MI Attorney General. He was laicized in 2021. Included in the A.G.'s 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report.

    Fr. Arthur J. Le Roux

    Ordained: 1936
    Status: Accused

    Died: 05/26/1966
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Monsignor. Died in 1966, age 56. Named publicly as accused (mistakenly as Arthur La Rue) in the MI Attorney General's 12/14/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report. In 2018 a man reported to the Diocese that Le Roux sexually abused him in the 1950s when he was an altar boy in 7th and 8th grades at St. Mary's in Spring Lake. The man said the abuse occurred multiple times over many months and involved fondling. He said he told his parents after Le Roux told him to take off all of his clothes so he could weigh him.

    Fr. David E. LeBlanc

    Ordained: 1961
    Status: Sued

    Died: 08/20/2019
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    LeBlanc resigned from his parish in 1/2007 after admitting to Bishop Hurley that he had sexually abused a boy, age 10 or 11, in 1971 during a sleepover at the rectory. The allegation was brought to the Diocese in 1993 and LeBlanc admitted it then. Apparently then-Bishop Rose did nothing. The matter was brought to light in 1/2007 when the bishop reviewed personnel files. The victim filed a claim against the Diocese in 9/2007. In 4/2019 a man stated publicly that LeBlanc molested him at a Caledonia parish in 1999, when he was age 12. No prosecution due to the statute of limitations. LeBlanc died 8/20/2019. Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report.

    Fr. John Whalen Patrick McGee

    Ordained: 1943
    Status: Accused

    Died: 06/1/1987
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Died in 1987. Named publicly as accused in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report. A woman told the Diocese in 2021 that McGee sexually abused her beginning when she was a 4th-grader in 1957 and until she was age 21. She said it began after her dog died and her family took her to McGee for comfort, and that she would go to the rectory after school and stay until he would drive her home late at night.

    Fr. Michael G. McKenna

    Ordained: 1973
    Status: Accused

    Died: 10/26/2023
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    In 1993 a 16-year-old boy and his parents told the Diocese they were concerned about McKenna's behavior. McKenna was a long-time family friend and sought increasing time and involvement with the boy, with boundary violations. They wanted him to get help. McKenna went on sabbatical in 2002 and was placed on medical leave in  2003. He was permanently removed from all ministry in 12/2006 after credible allegations that he sexually abused a child in the 1970s. Ordered to live a life of prayer and penance. Additional allegations of old abuse became public in 3/2008. Prosecutors said evidence showed abuse but the statute of limitations prohibited criminal prosecution. There were "several" victims, per the bishop. McKenna died 10/26/2023. Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report which details numerous allegations. In 5/2002 a man told the Diocese that McKenna sexually abused him for at least two years, beginning in 1973, when he was an altar boy, age 11 or 12. In 2/2004 a man reported that when he was ages 12-15, in 1975-1978, McKenna sexually abused him. Another man contacted the Diocese in 10/2004 to report that when he was 18, McKenna asked for a massage, during which the priest appeared to have an orgasm. In 12/2006 a man reported that McKenna sexually abused him between 1976 and 1977. In 1/2007 a man alleged abuse by McKenna as a 13-year-old altar boy in the mid-1970s. Also accused in 1/2007 of sexually abusing a boy 1978-1985, beginning when the boy was 11 or 12. In 11/2009 a man reported that his cognitively impaired 29-year-old son was spending weekends with McKenna and was worried that McKenna might have been sexually abusing his son. In 2010 a man said McKenna sexually abused him at age 12 in 1978; per another account, he was abused by the priest at age 9-10 in 1975-1976. 

    Fr. Edward Joseph Mike

    Donate Photo
    Ordained: 1961
    Status: Accused

    Died: 07/9/2025
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Named publicly as accused in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report. Left the priesthood in 1972, believed to have married. In 2010 a woman reported to the Diocese that Mike sexually abused her in the late 1960s or early 1970s, when she was age 10 or 11. She said the abuse involved fondling and occurred several times over about a month.

    Fr. Theophilus Palukaitis/Fr. Theo Palis

    Ordained: 1945
    Status: Accused

    Died: 02/7/2013
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    From Lithuania. Ordained in Germany in 1945. Arrived in the U.S. from a concentration camp after WWII. Spent summer 1951 in the Diocese of Grand Rapids. By 1952 was assigned in the Archdiocese of Portland OR, then by 1953 he was active in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, followed by the Diocese of Oakland CA. Changed his name to Fr. Theo Palis. Pastor for 31 years of of Our Lady Queen of the World in Bay Point CA. Retired in 2006. Died in 2013 in Oakland. Named publicly as accused in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 report, as Fr. Theophilus Palukaitis. In 1995 a woman reported to the Grand Rapids Diocese that when she was age 8 in summer 1951, she was molested by Palukaitis. She said she told her mother, who called her a liar. She said that later in life her mother told her that "numerous girls were molested by this man but the parents kept it quiet."

    Fr. Malcolm Andree Portee

    Donate Photo
    Order: SCJ
    Ordained: 1975
    Status: Accused

    Died: 11/29/1991
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Died in 1991 at age 48 in Carbondale IL. Per his death notice, Portee was a priest of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pinellas Park FL. Named publicly as accused in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report. The Diocese received an allegation in 2011 that Portee sexually abused a 14-year-old girl on several occasions in the late 1970s. His alleged victim said that she was made to clean the rectory after she was caught stealing and that Portee "fondled and penetrated her."

    Fr. Joseph E. Shaw

    Ordained: 1933
    Status: Accused

    Died: 09/25/1987
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Monsignor. Parish priest; teacher and vice-rector of St. Joseph Seminary; head of the Diocesan Tribunal 1946-1975; St. Gertrude Convent chaplain 1966-1983. Named publicly as accused in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report. Died in 1987. (The AG Report has an erroneous death date.) In 2006 a man told the Diocese that when he was a minor seminary student he was touched inappropriately by Shaw. In 2018 another man told the Attorney General's office that Shaw sexually abused him when he was a St. Joseph's Seminary student 1963-1966, ages 13-15. He said that Shaw would watch the boys shower every day, and that he was singled out by Shaw.

    Fr. Edward Statkus

    Ordained: 1938
    Status: Accused

    Died: 12/26/1999
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    From Lithuania, where he was ordained in 1938. Arrived in the U.S. in 1950, lived with his brother in Cleveland OH. Assigned briefly to a parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Invited around 1951 to work in the Diocese of Grand Rapids; incardinated in 1967. Died in 1999. Named publicly in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report. In 2008 a man reported to the Diocese that when he was 15 in the mid-1960s, Statkus sexually abused him in Roscommon. He said that Statkus showed up drunk at his family cabin, had him drive to the liquor store for a case of beer, then molested him.

    Fr. Reinhard J. Sternemann

    Order: OSA
    Ordained: 1966
    Status: Accused

    Died: 08/7/2024
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Named publicly as accused in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report. In 2007 a man reported to the Diocese that Sternemann sexually abused him in 1973, when he was a 15- or 16-year-old student at St. Augustine Seminary in Saugatuck. Sternemann was a faculty member. He died 8/7/2024.

    Fr. Theodore Tsiakalos

    Donate Photo
    Ordained: 1948
    Status: Accused

    Died: 08/29/2002
    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Named publicly as accused by the Rockville Centre diocese on its list in 3/2021 (name misspelled Tziakalos.) Abuse allegedly occurred in Tziakolos' car; he was assigned 1/1960-7/1963 to St. Anthony's in Oceanside. Tsiakalos was a priest of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, MI, sent quietly in 1950 or 1951 to the Diocese of Brooklyn. He appears to have been in the Rockville Centre diocese 1960-1972. Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report, which notes that the Diocese of Gaylord received a report in 2007 that he and another boy were sexually abused by Tsiakalos 1950-1951, when they were altar boys at St. Mary's in Cheboygan. (Cheboygan was at that time part of the Gaylord diocese). Per the alleged victim, the abuse occurred when Tsiakalos had the boys spend the night with him in the rectory the night before they were to serve a mass. The boys took a bath - Fr. Ted "helped" - then had them all sleep naked in the same bed. (Grand Rapids' Victim Assistance Coordinator said that Tsiakalos was a Franciscan; no indication of this found in the Catholic Directories or elsewhere.) Also per the Attorney General's report, Tsiakalos "possibly" died 8/29/2002.

    Fr. Richard Van Lente

    Ordained: 1966
    Status: Accused

    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    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.

    Fr. Marcel Alphonse VanBergen

    Donate Photo
    Ordained: 1950
    Status: Accused

    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Named publicly as accused in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report. Placed on inactive status in 5/1968. Died in 1983. In 2008 a man told the Diocese that in 1956, when he was in kindergarten, Vanbergen fondled him. He said he told another priest a few years later, who told him to drop it. He said he also told the Diocese. In 2013 another man reported sexual abuse by Vanbergen when he was a 7th- or 8th-grade altar boy in 1955 or 1956 at St. Stephens. He said he told his grandmother, who took him to a priest at St. Mary's; he was told "stop telling lies" or he would "go to hell."

    Fr. Dennis A. Wagner

    Ordained: 1978
    Status: Guilty plea

    Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids MI

    Pleaded guilty in 1983 to assault and battery of a 13-year-old boy during a tubing trip. Given two years probation and received counseling. Apparently admitted in 1983 that he had molested more than one boy. Sent to St. Luke Institute in 1986. Allowed parish ministry in 7/1987, told not to have contact with those under age 18. Many more allegations of abuse of boys, some in lakes, swimming pools, cottages, showers. A man told the Diocese in the early 1990s that Wagner raped him in a lake in 1985. No criminal charges due to the statute of limitations. The Diocese gave the man money for therapy. Wagner was allowed to work as a canon lawyer in the Diocesan Tribunal Office. Suspended in 5/2002. At least six substantiated allegations. Several settlements. Wagner agreed to ask for laicization. Laicized 4/5/2004. Included in the MI Attorney General's 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids report.

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Our Database of Publicly Accused does not state or imply that individuals facing allegations are guilty of a crime or liable for civil claims. The reports contained in the database are merely allegations. The U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.