BishopAccountability.org
	Priest Accuser Now Faces Charges Albany Times Union August 5, 2008 http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=709251&category=SCHENECTADY SCHENECTADY -- A man who alleges a priest in the Albany Catholic Diocese abused him two decades ago was arrested over the weekend on charges that he mistreated his stepchild. Michael Cleveland, 37, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child after his 5-year-old stepchild was found wandering near Broadway alone around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Lt. Brian Kilcullen of the Schenectady police said. Police said the child left home on Crane Street while Cleveland was sleeping. When Cleveland was arrested around 8 p.m., police also charged him in connection with an earlier incident in July in which police allege he hit his stepchild on both sides of the face, causing swelling and bruising, Kilcullen said. The reports do not indicate if the two incidents involve the same child, but both identify the alleged victim as Cleveland's 5-year-old stepchild. Cleveland is charged with second-degree assault in that incident, which had been under investigation by police, Kilcullen said. Cleveland was arraigned and taken to Schenectady County Jail in lieu of $20,000 cash, $30,000 bond. Cleveland filed a $4 million lawsuit against the Albany Diocese in 2005, alleging that the Rev. David Bentley sexually abused him 22 years ago. Bentley was removed from active ministry in 2002 after the diocese determined there was reasonable cause to believe he had sexually abused minors.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.