MARQUETTE (MI)
Detroit Free Press
August 24, 2005, 10:30 AM
MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) -- An investigation has determined that a longtime Upper Peninsula priest who died five years ago sexually abused minors, the Catholic Diocese of Marquette said.
A review board validated allegations regarding the Rev. Clement LePine, the diocese said in a statement this week. It said members of St. Joseph Parish in Ishpeming, where LePine was pastor for nearly 30 years, were informed of the findings after masses last weekend.
Two women reported earlier this year that LePine had abused them as young children during the 1960s and 1970s, the statement said.
The Diocesan Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People assisted Bishop James Garland in studying the complaints. The board is composed of two priests and six lay persons, including three social workers and a psychiatrist.