Following the massive statewide raid of Catholic dioceses the Michigan Attorney General’s office conducted late last year, and the round of arrest warrants which were issued thereafter, the first priest has been convicted. Patrick Casey was charged with third degree criminal sexual conduct, but pled guilty to aggravated assault, and faces up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Casey is one of five priests who were arrested and charged following the Attorney General’s investigation. The AG’s cases against the other priests are in the midst of preliminary exams and pre-trials, and one case will be heading to the Michigan Court of Appeals after being dismissed by a Washtenaw County District Court Judge.
Casey was convicted in Wayne County Circuit Court. He formerly served as priest at St. Theodore of Canterbury Parish in Westland.
For survivors of clergy abuse and those fighting alongside them, this conviction brings small slice of validation and closure. Grewal Law PLLC works to understand the trauma and unique difficulties survivors of sexual assault face. If you or someone you know is thinking of speaking out against a clergy member, or any perpetrator of sexual assault, let the Grewal team assist in delivering the justice survivors so richly deserve.
Kelly R. McClintock joined Grewal Law in 2019 to help establish a human trafficking litigation division and to assist Grewal’s already successful practices, including sexual assault litigation, and family law.
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