“While the investigation is not closed it is at a point where due to the statute of limitations there is nothing chargeable,” said Tim Bormann, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office. “Should any new information or allegations be forthcoming that evidence would then be examined.”

Bormann declined to share the nature of the allegations and the results and scope of the investigation into Father Michel Mulloy, a priest who was set to become Bishop of Duluth.

“The statute of limitations places this matter into a category where it cannot be brought into a court of law, similarly it would not be proper to release any details that would conversely be considered in the court of public opinion,” he said.

“As this is an ongoing investigation in that manner there will be no further comments made on the issue,” Bormann added about the investigation he previously referred to as “concluded” in an email to the Journal.

Mulloy is accused of sexually abusing a child in Faith in the early 1980s, according to Michele Bordewyk, Meade County state’s attorney. He worked at the Faith parish from 1983 to 1989, according to a June 2020 news release from the Diocese of Sioux Falls.

The Diocese of Rapid City is still investigating the case and Mulloy remains on administrative leave and he’s not allowed to engage in ministry, according to Teresa Spiess, secretary to Bishop Peter Muhich.

Spiess also declined to share more details about the allegation.

Bordewyk told the Journal that the Diocese contacted her about the allegation and she referred the case to DCI. Bordewyk is able to make a charging decision but said Wednesday that DCI hasn't shared any information with her. 

Matthew Schackow, chief of the Faith Police Department, said Wednesday that he heard from a DCI investigator last month but hasn't been told about the allegation.

Charges can be brought any time against someone accused of raping someone under the age of 13 or raping someone through force, coercion or threats.

• Making sexual contact with a minor;
• Raping someone who is unable to give consent due to physical or mental incapacity or because they're intoxicated;
• Raping someone between 13-16 when the perpetrator is at least three years older than the victim.

Mulloy, a 67-year-old from Mobridge, was ordained in the Diocese of Sioux Falls in 1979 before becoming a priest in the Diocese of Rapid City, according to the July 2020 edition of West River Catholic.

He’s held multiple leadership positions, including serving as the leader of the diocese between July 2019 when Bishop Robert Gruss was reassigned to Saginaw, Michigan, to July 2020 when Muhich was installed.

Pope Francis appointed Mulloy to serve as the Bishop in Duluth on June 19, 2020, and the Diocese received the allegation on August 7, according to a September news release from the Diocese. The Diocese said this is the only allegation it has ever received against Mulloy.

After receiving the allegation, Muhich contacted law enforcement and told Mulloy he couldn’t engage in ministry, according to a statement from the diocese.

The diocese also commissioned an internal investigation to determine if the allegation warranted further investigation under Canon Law. The investigation concluded that the allegation did deserve further review.