LANSING (MI)
WILX - NBC 10 [Lansing MI]
December 16, 2024
By Krystle Holleman and DeAnna Giles
There are 56 entries on the list, which includes 48 priests, three religious brothers and an apparent former religious brother, and four deacons; 42 were ordained or incardinated by the Diocese of Lansing.
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – On Monday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the release of a report by the Department of Attorney General regarding allegations of sexual abuse and other sexual misconduct that took place in the Diocese of Lansing.
The report, which was released to acknowledge the victims’ reports of abuse and document the Department’s findings, is 345 pages long and can be read in full at the bottom of this article.
It is a compilation of excerpts from the information obtained from multiple sources, including the tip line, victim interviews, police investigations, open-source media, paper documents seized from the Diocese of Lansing, electronic documents found on the diocesan computers, and reports of allegations disclosed by the Diocese.
“These reports are important, not just because we made a promise to the survivors years ago, but because victims, especially in cases like these where the assaults were perpetrated by entrusted members of a community, are often silenced – in some cases for decades or a lifetime,” Nessel said. “By publishing these reports, we are sharing their stories and validating their experiences. Criminal prosecutions are just one accountability metric. Ensuring each victim is heard, regardless of how long ago the sexual abuse and misconduct may have been, is important in acknowledging their pain and fostering a culture that prioritizes these victims over their silence.”
The list of priests for which there were allegations of sexual misconduct against either children or adults since January 1, 1950, is derived from information collected from a search warrant that was executed against the Diocese of Lansing on October 3, 2018, and from the tipline established by the Department of Attorney General since 2018. There are 56 entries on the list, which includes 48 priests, three religious brothers and an apparent former religious brother, and four deacons; 42 were ordained or incardinated by the Diocese of Lansing.
“When I first took office in 2019, we had quite a number of issues with a lot of the diocese that we were investigating and we got a lot of push back and really, I would say that’s changed over the course of time,” Nessel said.
“Having read this long and detailed report, my heart breaks for all those who have suffered due to the evil of clerical sexual abuse which is a great betrayal of Jesus Christ, His Holy Church, the priesthood, and, most gravely, those victims – and their families – who were harmed physically, emotionally, but above all spiritually when they were so young,” said Bishop Earl Boyea, who has been at the helm of the Diocese of Lansing since 2008. “To all those injured by such criminal and immoral actions I say clearly and without hesitation: these terrible things should never have happened to you; I am so deeply sorry that they ever did; please be assured of my prayers, penance, love and support.”
William Bloomfield shared the Lansing Diocese sits under a 2002 Catholic charter which emphasizes a zero tolerance for any misconduct. Even though most of the abuses occurred prior to that period.
“I think what happened was prior to 2002, the church really didn’t understand the scope of the problem. Most of these allegations actually did not come into the church until many years after the abuse occurred,” Bloomfield said, General Counsel for Diocese Lansing.
Of the 11 cases, two of the cases were related to priests ministering in the Diocese of Lansing, and one person who apparently was formerly a religious brother.
- People v. Vincent DeLorenzo – DeLorenzo, a priest at Holy Redeemer Church in Burton, was sentenced to one year in jail and five years’ probation in June of 2023 on one count of Attempted First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. DeLorenzo pled guilty to sexually assaulting a five-year-old boy following a service he officiated for the boy’s deceased family member in 1987. DeLorenzo died in January 2024 while serving his sentence.
- People v. Timothy Crowley – Crowley, a priest at St. Thomas Rectory in Ann Arbor, was sentenced in November 2023, to one year incarceration and five years’ probation on two counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. Crowley pled guilty in August 2023, and was originally charged with four felony counts of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and four felony counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct for sexually abusing a minor child three decades ago.
- People v. Joseph Comperchio – Comperchio, a church organist and Catholic school drama and music teacher at St. John Catholic School in Jackson who held himself out to be a Catholic brother, was sentenced to 10-30 years’ incarceration on one count of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and three counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. Comperchio pled guilty to each count in June of 2021, he had been originally charged with two counts of First-Degree CSC and nine counts of Second-Degree CSC for sexual abuse of four minor children, some as young as nine-years-old, in the 1970s. Comperchio died from natural causes in 2022 while serving his sentence.
The other eight criminal prosecutions of Catholic priests charged with sexual assault in Michigan by the Attorney General are:
- People v. Brian Stanley – Stanley, a priest at St. Margaret’s Catholic Church in Otsego, was sentenced in January of 2020 to 60 days’ incarceration and five years’ probation on one count of Attempted False Imprisonment. Stanley pled guilty in January 2020 to immobilizing a teenage boy by wrapping him tightly in plastic wrap and using masking tape as additional binding to cover the child’s eyes and mouth, leaving him bound and alone in the janitor’s room for an extended period of time before returning and eventually letting him go in 2013.
- People v. Jacob Vellian – Vellian, a priest at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Benton Harbor, was charged in May of 2019 with two counts of rape under the previous criminal sexual assault statutes. In November 2023, the Department was notified that Vellian likely passed while awaiting extradition from India but is awaiting formal confirmation from the Department of State of his death.
- People v. Joseph “Jack” Baker – Baker, a pastor at St. Perpetua Parish in Waterford and at St. Mary Parish in Wayne and an associate pastor at Sacred Heart in Dearborn and at St. Hugo of the Hills Parish in Bloomfield Hills, was sentenced to 3-15 years’ incarceration in March of 2023 on one count of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. A jury found Baker guilty of sexual penetration with a person under 13 for a 2004 rape. The charge against Baker came about as a result of a referral from the Archdiocese of Detroit, which received the original report and immediately reported it to the lead prosecutor on Attorney General Nessel’s clergy abuse team in 2019.
- People v. Neil Kalina – Kalina, a priest at St. Kiernan Catholic Church in Shelby Township, was sentenced to 7-15 years’ incarceration in July 2022 on two counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. A jury found Kalina guilty of sexually assaulting a child aged 14 in 1984. Kalina is set to be resentenced in Macomb County Circuit Court on January 9, 2025.
- People v. Gary Berthiaume – Berthiaume, a priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wyandotte and later Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington, was sentenced to 17 months to 15 years’ incarceration on two counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and one count of Gross Indecency in January 2022. Berthiaume pled guilty to the CSC charges and no contest to the gross indecency in 2021. Berthiaume sexually abused three children between the ages of 13 and 15 in the 1970s. He was arrested in 1977 for sexual assault of two other minor children and served time in the Oakland County Jail for these crimes, before being transferred by the church to the Diocese of Cleveland.
- People v. Gary Jacobs – Jacobs, a priest in the Diocese of Marquette active in Dickinson and Ontonagon Counties, was sentenced to 8-15 years’ incarceration on three counts of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and two counts of Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. Jacobs pled guilty to each count, admitting to abusing five children under the age of 16 in the Upper Peninsula during the 1980s. In total, there were 11 complaints of abuse by children against Jacobs.
- People v. Patrick Casey – Casey, a priest at St. Theodore of Canterbury Parish in Westland, was sentenced in November of 2019 to 45 days’ incarceration and one year of probation on one count of Aggravated Assault. Casey pled to the charge as a jury deliberated one count Third-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct for initiating oral sex with an adult attempting to make confession to him in 2013.
- People v. Roy Joseph – Joseph, a priest in Marquette County, was charged with one count of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct in January 2020 for a 2006 assault. He is awaiting extradition from India.
The report contains detailed descriptions of allegations of sexual abuse and other sexual misconduct, including grooming and misuse of authority against both minors and adults.
“The possible criminal prosecution of many of these allegations is barred by the statute of limitations, or because the accused priest is deceased, or for other allegations because the conduct did not violate Michigan law or the person who alleged the sexual abuse did not wish to pursue criminal charges,” the Department of Attorney General said in a release.
Greg Guggemos says that it took him nearly 50 years to come to terms with the abuse he suffered when he was just five years old. He was glad to see that the AG had finished reports into the investigation.
Even though he was able to settle with the Lansing Diocese, he doesn’t agree with the AG who says the report symbolizes a new chapter.
“If the AG hadn’t come in there and taken all of those records we’d still be in the same boat we were the day before the search warrant was execute,” Guggemos said.
In October 2018, 42 Michigan State Police troopers, five officers from different law enforcement agencies, and 15 special agents from the Department of Attorney General executed search warrants at Michigan’s seven dioceses. From those efforts, 220 boxes of paper documents and more than 3.5 million digital documents were seized.
The Diocese of Lansing, which was established in 1937, agreed to provide reports of abuse to the Department of Attorney General.
“Victims often reach out to their faith leaders to share stories of alleged abuse,” the Department of the Attorney General said. “The willingness of the Diocese to provide information was instrumental in the compilation of the report.”
Along with the paper and digital documents seized from the dioceses, information was also acquired through the Attorney General’s clergy abuse tip line. The tip line has generated 1,137 tips related to abuse, leading to multiple police investigations, at least 180 victim interviews, and more than 285 police reports.
The Lansing Diocese hopes that victims are not retraumatized by reading the cases of sexual abuse. For Guggemos, he felt otherwise.
“No, it doesn’t traumatize me like it did in 2009. I still get upset. I’m still gonna be brought to tears, but I’m on some really good medication that helps and I speak out every opportunity I get because if I can get one person to come forward, that’s why that legislation in Michigan to create that window for the statute of limitations, is so important,” Guggemos said.
That statute of limitations is the focus of the Justice for Survivors package. It’s meant to extend the civil statute of limitations and in some cases, even eliminate it. The package of bills passed the Senate on Friday and is now heading back to the House for a vote.
The Attorney General spoke to the media at 1:30 Monday afternoon. That can be viewed here.
The Diocese of Lansing held a press conference in response to the report. You can watch that press conference here.
Lansing Diocese Report by Department of the Attorney General – December 2024 by WILX Krystle on Scribdhttps://www.scribd.com/embeds/805440621/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-hSgILWWieYB4vZ5xwiFH
For more information on the Attorney General’s clergy abuse investigation or to submit information, visit the department’s website.
Information can be shared via the investigation hotline at 844-324-3374 or by email.
Victims of sexual abuse and/or assault in need of additional resources should contact 855-VOICES4.
This is the 4th report out of 7 to be released by the attorney general’s office. The Grand Rapids report is set to be released in the spring of 2025, the Saginaw report will be released in the fall, and the Detroit report will be released sometime in 2026.
Subscribe to our News 10 newsletter and YouTube page to receive the latest local news and weather. Looking to hire people, or grow your business through advertising? Gray Digital Media is your one-stop marketing solution. Learn more.
Copyright 2024 WILX. All rights reserved.