Nessel issues first of 7 reports in Michigan clergy sexual abuse investigation

Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office investigated sexual abuse allegations against roughly 44 priests as part of its investigation into the Diocese of Marquette’s handling of clergy sexual abuse allegations, according to the first of seven reports released by Nessel’s office Thursday.

Of the 44 priests accused in the Marquette diocese, 32 were dead by the time Nessel’s office received the complaint and other cases were barred from prosecution by a statute of limitations law that requires charges to be issued within a certain time period after an alleged crime, the 154-page report said.

Two of the 44 accused priests have been charged by the attorney general’s office and a third was charged in 2021 by the Chippewa County prosecutor. Nessel’s charges have resulted in one conviction stemming from the Marquette diocese, while the office is working to extradite a priest in the second case from India.

The report does not opine on the credibility of the claims against the 44 priests, outside of those listed as already having been charged, convicted or removed from ministry based on the claims. Instead, Nessel’s office noted the information was being released “as an acknowledgment to the victims of these alleged crimes and as a public accounting of the resources allocated to the Department of Attorney General to investigate and prosecute clergy abuse.”

“We must break down the walls of silence that so often surround sexual assault and abuse,” Nessel said in a statement. “In the end, we hope this investigation provides a voice to those who have suffered in silence for so long and shines a light on those alleged offenders who have escaped punishment for their crimes by hiding in shadows.”

The Diocese of Marquette, which Nessel’s office said cooperated in the investigation, called the report in a press conference Thursday “sobering and disturbing,” thanked those who came forward and welcomed others wishing to make a report.

“Our work to stamp out this great evil must continue,” Marquette Bishop John Doerfler said. “On behalf of the church, I offer a sincere apology to anyone who has been abused by clergy in the Catholic Church. You are and should have been our priority.”

Doerfler said no priest or deacon is active in ministry in the diocese if they have a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse.

Nessel’s office plans to release a report on each diocese’s handling of clergy sexual abuse complaints in the coming months as it works to complete a more than 4-year investigation that’s resulted in sexual abuse charges against 11 priests. Roughly 100 investigations still are ongoing, the report said, and seven of the 11 charged have been convicted.

The investigation into clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Michigan initiated under Republican former Attorney General Bill Schuette launched Sept. 21, 2018.

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