Nessel releases final report on Gaylord Catholic Diocese

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan Attorney General’s Office has released its second of seven reports on the state’s Catholic Dioceses, detailing allegations against clergy from the Diocese of Gaylord.

In all, Dana Nessel’s team confirmed there were credible reports against 28 leaders within the diocese: 26 priests and two deacons. Of those 28, 16 are known or presumed to be dead.

Of the 12 who are living or presumed living, only three remain in active ministry — one as a pastor and two in retired ministry. Nessel’s team says all allegations against those three involved adult victims, not children, and no criminal charges have been filed against them.

Nessel says the “vast majority” of alleged conduct that may have violated state law occurred before 2002, the year the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops adopted a new process for reporting sexual abuse allegations.

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“Our promise to the victims was that every case of sexual abuse and assault would be thoroughly reviewed and that the results of the investigation would be transparent,” Nessel said in a statement. “I especially want to thank the survivors who have shared their stories, sometimes for the first time after decades of silence. Their willingness to come forward has helped bring attention to an issue that has affected so many in our state and our country, especially children.”

The formal investigation was launched in September of 2018. The Attorney General’s Office, along with several law enforcement agencies, executed search warrants at all seven of Michigan’s Dioceses — the Archdiocese in Detroit, and Dioceses in Gaylord, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Marquette and Saginaw.

The Gaylord report is the second of the seven to be published. The first involved the Diocese of Marquette, which was released in October 2022.

An estimated 1.5 million documents and 3.5 million electronic documents were seized as part of the complete investigation. Nessel says investigators have met quarterly with lawyers representing each Diocese to keep them updated on the investigation and that all seven Dioceses have cooperated with the investigation.

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Across the state, criminal charges have been filed against 11 clergymen. Of those 11, seven pleaded guilty to their crimes while two others were convicted of various criminal sexual conduct charges.

Two others are awaiting extradition on state charges. Roy Joseph, a former priest in Marquette County, faces a first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge and is awaiting extradition from India. Jacob Vellian, a former priest from Benton Harbor, was also waiting extradition from India but reportedly has died. Nessel’s office is waiting for official confirmation of his death.

“We must break down the walls of silence that so often surround sexual assault and abuse,” Nessel stated. “In the end, we hope this investigation provides a voice to those who have suffered in silence for so long and shines a light on those alleged offenders whose actions allowed them to evade true accountability.”

You can read the full report here.

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 844.324.3374 during regular business hours. The state also has a hotline for all victims of sexual assault that offers support and resources: 1.855.VOICES4 (864.2374).

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