Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced today 21 counts of criminal sexual conduct against five men following a clergy abuse investigation. Four of the men have been arrested, while one awaits extradition from India.
“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,” said Nessel. “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.
“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,” cautioned Nessel.
In a press release, the attorney general's office named the men and charges filed against each:
"Timothy Michael Crowley, 69, Lansing Diocese, was charged in Washtenaw County with four felony counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC) 1 and four felony counts of CSC 2. Crowley, who was a priest in various parishes, including St. Thomas Rectory in Ann Arbor, was arrested Thursday in Tempe, Arizona. "Neil Kalina, 63, Archdiocese of Detroit, was charged in Macomb County with one felony count of CSC 4. Kalina, who was a priest at St. Kiernan Catholic Church in Shelby Township, was arrested Thursday in Littlerock, California. "Vincent DeLorenzo, 80, Lansing Diocese, was charged in Genesee County with three felony counts of CSC 1, and three felony counts of CSC 2. DeLorenzo, who was a priest at Holy Redeemer Church in Burton, was arrested Thursday in Marion County, Florida. "Patrick Casey, 55, Archdiocese of Detroit, was charged in Wayne County with one felony count of CSC 3. Casey, who was a priest at St. Theodore of Canterbury Parish in Westland, was arrested Thursday in Oak Park, Michigan. "Jacob Vellian, 84, Kalamazoo Diocese, was charged with two counts of Rape. Vellian was a priest at St. John the Evangelist Parish, Benton Harbor, and now lives in Kerala, India."
Additionally, a priest with the archdiocese of Detroit, Lawrence Ventline, faces an administrative complaint and was suspended by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) last week.
This is a developing story.
