LANSING, Mich. — Five men who were priests have been charged with a total of 21 counts of criminal sexual conduct., Attorney General Dana Nessel announced in a news conference Friday morning.
A sixth Michigan priest is facing an administrative complaint and his license as a professional educationally limited counselor has been summarily suspended by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
"In the last 30 hours, more than a dozen members of our investigative team have been in courtrooms in Washtenaw, Wayne, Genesee, Macomb and Berrien Counties while other members of our team have been working with local law enforcement in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan--all in a carefully executed plan to take these charged defendants off the streets," Nessel said. "Almost all of these charges came as a direct result of calls to our tip line but were then corroborated by files seized from the dioceses last fall, followed by multiple interviews with victims."
These are the charges that were filed.
Timothy Michael Crowley, 69-years-old, of the Lansing Diocese was charged in Washtenaw County with four felony counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the first degree, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison and a lifetime of electronic monitoring and four felony counts of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree with a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Crowley, who was a priest in various parishes, including St. Thomas Rectory in Ann Arbor, was arrested Thursday in Tempe, Arizona.
Neil Kalina, 63-years-old, of the Archdiocese of Detroit, was charged in Macomb County with one felony count of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the fourth degree carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a lifetime of electronic monitoring. Kalina, who was a priest at St. Kiernan Catholic Church in Shelby Township, was arrested Thursday in Littlerock, California.
Vincent DeLorenzo, 80-years-old, of the Lansing Diocese, was charged in Genesee County with three felony counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the first degree carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison and a lifetime of electronic monitoring, and three felony counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the second degree a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. DeLorenzo, who was a priest at Holy Redeemer Church in Burton, was arrested Thursday in Marion County, Florida.
Patrick Casey, 55-years-old, of the Archdiocese of Detroit, was charged in Wayne County with one felony count of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the third degree carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Casey, who was a priest at St. Theodore of Canterbury Parish in Westland, was arrested Thursday in Oak Park, Michigan.
Jacob Vellian, 84-years-old, of the Kalamazoo Diocese, was charged with two counts of Rape carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison. Vellian was a priest at St. John the Evangelist Parish, Benton Harbor, and now lives in Kerala, India.
Nessel said although some of these men have been arrested abroad, they will be brought back to Michigan for their hearings.
"Although we have charged these men with very serious crimes, I want to remind everyone that they are innocent until proven guilty by a court of law," Nessel said.
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