Michigan charges 5 former priests with sexual misconduct
Five former priests at various dioceses in Michigan have been charged with various criminal offenses related to sexual misconduct, the state's attorney general announced Friday.
ABC News reports that four of the five clergy members named at a news conference Friday were arrested, while the fifth now lives in India and now faces possible extradition to the United States.
Among those charged are 55-year-old Patrick Casey, 69-year-old Timothy Michael Crowley, 80-year-old Vincent DeLorenzo, 63-year-old Neil Kalina, and 84-year-old Jacob Vellian, according to ABC News. Their alleged victims were largely minors, with the exception of Casey who is charged with performing non-consensual oral sex on a 24-year-old.
Casey, Crowley and DeLorenzo face charges of criminal sexual conduct, according to the report. Kalina faces a charge of criminal sexual contact, ABC reported, while Vellina, now in India, faces two charges of rape.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said that more charges for more clergy members accused of sexual misconduct with minors were on the way.
“This is only the tip of the iceberg,” Nessel said, according to ABC.
“We estimate we are only 5 or 10 percent at most through the information that we currently possess,” she added. “We anticipate many more charges and arrests as we continue to move forward with our work."
At least 14 other states also have open inquiries into alleged sexual abuse by members of the Catholic Church following an explosive grand jury report that implicated hundreds of priests in Pennsylvania last year.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/445461-michigan-charges-5-former-priests-with-sexual-misconduct