In particular, the Roman Catholic Church and its Dioceses across the country have been investigated for evidence of clergy sexual assault by current and former priests, bishops, cardinals and other church leadership. The website BishopAccountability.org has collected and published records of allegations against Roman Catholic clergy around the world. The website identifies parishes where priests alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct once served.

In Michigan, the Attorney General has been conducting ongoing investigations into allegations of sexual abuse against all seven of the state’s Catholic Dioceses, in addition to bringing several priests to justice. The investigation is broad and wide-sweeping with investigations going back as far as the 1950s. You can follow the Michigan Attorney General’s investigations here. Since the Attorney General started investigating, there have been hundreds of tips called into a dedicated hotline.

In order to end clergy sexual abuse and bring its offenders to justice, all survivors must speak up and share their stories. Clergy abuse survivors often have questions about how the civil justice system can be used to help them obtain justice and accountability. We understand it can be very difficult to come forward and share your stories, but we are here to listen to you, believe you, and answer all of your questions. Contact us today to schedule a free, 100% confidential, no-obligation consultation.

The Michigan attorney general has investigated and charged numerous priests within the Catholic Church. Since their investigations began, these priests have been charged with criminal sexual conduct:

• Timothy Michael Crowley, 69, Lansing Diocese, previously a priest at St. Thomas Rectory in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• Neil Kalina, 63, Archdiocese of Detroit, previously a priest at St. Kiernan Catholic Church in Shelby Township, Michigan, from 1982 to 1985.
• Patrick Casey, 55, Archdiocese of Detroit, previously a priest at St. Theodore of Canterbury Parish in Westland, Michigan.
• Jacob Vellian, 84, Kalamazoo Diocese, previously a priest at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
• Vincent DeLorenzo, 80, Lansing Diocese, previously a priest at Holy Redeemer Church in Burton, Michigan.
• Joseph (Jack) Baker, Archdiocese of Detroit, previously a priest at St. Perpetua Parish in Waterford, Michigan; St. Mary Parish in Wayne, Michigan; Sacred Heart Parish in Dearborn, Michigan; and associate pastor at St. Hugo of the Hills Parish in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
• Brian Stanley, 57, Lansing, Michigan Diocese, previously a priest at St. Margaret’s Church.
• Joseph Comperchio, 68, taught at St. John Catholic School in Jackson, Michigan, from 1974 to 1977 and at Canterbury School in Lee County, Florida.
• Gary Berthiaume, 80, previously a priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wyandotte and later Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington, Michigan.

Also, the Michigan Attorney General’s office released a Report of Alleged Abuse at Marquette Catholic Diocese about allegations of abuse in the Marquette Catholic Diocese.

The list identifies these priests:

• Fr. Casimir Adasiewicz, died 1981.
• Fr. Thomas Anderson, died 1981.
• Fr. Emil Beyer, died 2003.
• Fr. Joseph Carne, died 2019.
• Fr. Leonard Cornelius, O.F.M., active ministry at Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.
• Fr. Richard T. Craig, removed from ministry in 1993.
• Fr. Timothy Desrochers, died 2020.
• Fr. Thomas Dunleavy, 2002.
• Fr. Gino Ferraro, died 1976.
• Fr. Wilbur Gibbs, died 1988.
• Fr. Basil Goerner, died 2008.
• Fr. Michael Hale, died 1975.
• Fr. Gerald Harrington, died 1962.
• Fr. Donald Hartman, died 1999, removed from the ministry in 1992.
• Fr. Aloysius Hasenberg, died 2016, removed from the ministry in 2008.
• Fr. Terrence Healy, died 2019, removed from ministry in 1987 and convicted of criminal sexual conduct.
• Fr. Raymond Hoefgen, died 2012, removed from the ministry in 2002.
• Fr. John Hughes, died 1979.
• Fr. Gary Jacobs, removed from ministry in 1989 and convicted of criminal sexual conduct.
• Fr. Roy Joseph, charged with criminal sexual conduct.
• Fr. Norbert Lacosse, died 2014, removed from the ministry in 1990.
• Fr. Frank Lenz, remains in ministry with limitations.
• Fr. Clement Lepine, died 2000.
• Fr. Mark McQuesten, remains in active ministry.
• Fr. James Menapace, died 2022, removed from the ministry in 2002.
• Fr. Peter Minelli, died 2017, removed from the ministry in 2014.
• Fr. Albert Mligo, presumed alive.
• Fr. Robert Monroe, died 1980.
• Fr. Aaron Nowicki, removed from ministry in 2019, charged with criminal sexual conduct.
• Fr. Vincent Ouellette, died 1998.
• Fr. Wilfred Pelletier, died 1973.
• Fr. Anthony Polakowski, died 1978.
• Fr. Armour Roberts, died 1989.
• Fr. David Rocheleau, died 1984.
• Fr. Nelson Daniel Rupp, presumed alive, resigned as pastor in 1996.
• Fr. Walter Sheedlo, presumed alive, removed from ministry in 2009.
• Fr. Don Shiroda, died 2011.
• Fr. Ephream/Ephraim Sitko, died 1982.
• Fr. Neil Smith, died 2007.
• Fr. Charles Strelick, died 2017, retired from the ministry in 1995.
• Fr. Jan Szczykowski, unknown if dead or alive, returned to Poland in 1998.
• Fr. Guy Thoren, died 2011, removed from the ministry in 2002.
• Fr. Bernard Van Der Schueren, SJ, died 2009.
• Fr. James Wolf, O.F.M., CAP, alive, retired/restricted in ministry since 2005.

If a Catholic priest in Michigan abused you, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s office. They can investigate the case from a criminal perspective, but we can investigate the matter for a civil suit and monetary damages.

Survivors play a critical role in the criminal prosecutions of their abusers. In addition, a civil lawsuit against individual clergy members and the church can give survivors the opportunity to investigate and shine a light on church practices that fostered clergy abuse.

Sexual assault impacts survivors not only physically, but many are left to live with the emotional, financial and spiritual scars of that trauma their entire lives. The trauma from clergy sexual abuse can impact every aspect of their lives – relationships with friends and family, the ability to form interpersonal relationships, and the ability to obtain and maintain employment. The wounds do not heal easily. A civil lawsuit for monetary damages cannot take away the pain and trauma or immediately heal some of the deep wounds, but it can provide financial support for survivors to try to make up for their losses and to allow them the financial opportunity to obtain the help and services that may aid them in healing. A civil action may also help prevent clergy abuse in the future.

Survivors of sexual abuse have filed suit individually. Some file under their legal names, while others have used aliases to maintain their privacy. Other survivors have joined together in group litigation, seeing more power in numbers. Whatever form a lawsuit takes, the damages recoverable are essentially the same.

In most states, including Michigan, survivors of clergy sexual abuse have the right to sue to recover both non-economic and economic damages from their abusers and anyone who facilitated the abuse. We analyze each individual case to determine what the best course of action is for you. Our Michigan clergy sexual abuse lawyers understand that it can be difficult and frightening to come forward. If you were sexually abused by a clergy member, let us be your voice.

Time limits for filing clergy sexual abuse claims are different from state to state. Those time limits are called Statutes of Limitations. Please make sure to consult an experienced clergy abuse attorney if you are considering filing a lawsuit against your abuser or the church. New legislation was introduced in Michigan in April 2023 that would expand the ability of sexual abuse survivors to bring lawsuits against their abusers and the institutions that enabled them. The new legislation would amend MCL 691.1407, MCL 600.5805, MCL 600.5851(b), MCL 600.6431, and MCL 600.6452.

The new legislation, if passed as drafted, would:

1. Allow for survivors of criminal sexual conduct to bring a civil action for damages at any time before whichever of the following is later:

• 10 years after the time the claim accrues;
• Age 52; or
• Seven years after the injury and connection of the criminal sexual conduct is discovered or should have been discovered.

2. Allow for a short window in which sexual assaults that were previously too old to bring, could be brought in the civil courts (revival window).

3. Eliminate governmental immunity for governmental agencies or employees if they knew or should have known that the individual who committed the criminal sexual conduct had committed a prior act of criminal sexual conduct and the government agency or employee had failed to act to intervene to prevent the subsequent assault. This would also eliminate immunity retroactively.

4. Eliminate the necessity of a court of claims notice to a government agency for criminal sexual conduct.