DETROIT — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released the fourth of seven reports Monday related to a years-long investigation into clergy sexual abuse within Michigan's Catholic dioceses.

The report indicated that the investigation into the Diocese of Lansing, which began in September 2018, found that 48 priests, three religious brothers, one apparent former religious brother and four deacons may have engaged in sexual misconduct since 1950. Of the 56 total, 42 were ordained or incardinated by the Diocese of Lansing.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

Criminal charges were issued in 11 cases throughout the state, Nessel said, resulting in nine convictions. Two of those cases were related to priests in the Diocese of Lansing and one was resulted to an apparent former religious brother.

Vincent DeLorenzo, a priest at Holy Redeemer Church in Burton, was sentenced to one year in jail and five years of probation in June 2023 for one count of the attempted first-degree criminal sexual conduct of a 5-year-old boy. DeLorenzo died in January while serving his sentence.

Timothy Crowley, a priest at St. Thomas Rectory in Ann Arbor, was sentenced to one year in jail and five years of probation in November 2023 on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. He pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor three decades ago.

Joseph 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 in August 2021 to 10 to 30 years in prison for sexually assaulting four children. Comperchio died in 2022 while serving his sentence.

The Lansing investigation yielded 161 tips to the AG tipline, 44 of which came from the Diocese of Lansing. The majority of reported abuse or assaults were against children, though there were five priests alleged to have assaulted adults. The majority of the alleged abuse occurred before 2002.

37 of the priests and deacons are known or presumed to be dead. Only one, Deacon James Corder, is in active ministry with the Diocese of Lansing. Nessel said he has not been charged for his alleged abuse of a minor. Three are retired but do not have any restrictions on their ministry, but don't appear to have any active assignments.

The inclusion in the report does not mean the allegations are credible or substantiated, Nessel said.

The purpose of the investigation was to see if criminal charges could be filed against clergy members who engaged in sexual misconduct or sexual abuse, and to see if the Archdiocese and Dioceses were properly reporting the sexual abuse of minors.

In many cases throughout the state investigation, the statute of limitations blocked prosecution on decades-old allegations, the priests had already passed away, a victim was unwilling to appear in court or there simply wasn't enough evidence to bring a case to trial.

The report issued Monday is the fourth of seven reports released related to an investigation that began under Republican former Attorney General Bill Schuette in 2018. Nessel has released reports on the Dioceses of Marquette, Gaylord and Kalamazoo.

Law enforcement conducted simultaneous raids on Michigan's seven dioceses Oct. 3, 2018 as part of the investigation and recovered 220 boxes of paper documents and 3.5 million electronic documents.

©2024 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.