LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says the charges announced against another priest as part of an ongoing investigation "is just the tip of the iceberg."
The Rev. Joseph "Jack" Baker was arrested Monday morning in Wayne County by special agents from the Michigan Attorney General's Office.
He is charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Baker is the sixth priest charged by the Michigan Attorney General's Office.
In May, Nessel announced her office had charged five priests,who were from the Lansing, Detroit, and Kalamazoo Dioceses.
“We anticipated that the list of our defendants would grow, and indeed it has, and again we have a long way to go in terms of completing this investigation, so I expect to see further charges coming and more defendants, probably soon,” Nessel said.
Nessel says the AG's clergy abuse investigative team is "working day and night to review the hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and files seized from all seven of Michigan’s dioceses last fall. At the same time, we continue to receive calls daily from victims who know we will listen to them, believe in them, and investigate their allegations. They deserve nothing less than our very best.”
Anyone who has been victimized by a member of the Catholic church can confidentially report it to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office online or by calling 1-844-324-3374 during regular business hours. The state also has a hotline for all victims of sexual assault that offers support and resources at 1-855-864-2374. The state also has an email address setup: aginvestigations@michigan.gov
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