MICHIGAN
MLive
May 9, 2018
By Cole Waterman cwaterma@mlive.com
BAD AXE, MI — Nearly 20 years ago, a former priest of the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw was investigated by police, and the same prosecutor now involved in a priest probe, after a young man accused him of grabbing him.
Though the allegation didn’t result in criminal charges, the priest ended up stripped of his holy title.
Now 72 and living in Indiana, the former Rev. Jack J. “Father Jack” Leipert is one of five former clerics the diocese has permanently removed from ministry due to credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors. The diocese announced the names in April in the wake of the arrest of the Rev. Robert J. “Father Bob” DeLand Jr. on sexual assault charges.
In November 2000, Leipert, then 54, was serving as the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Bad Axe. According to reports obtained by MLive from the Bad Axe Police Department via a Freedom of Information Act request, a 21-year-old man visited the police department on Nov. 9 to file a complaint against Leipert.
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