38 clergy members — 37 priests and one deacon — were identified in the report as having been accused of sexual misconduct involving children or adults since Jan. 1, 1950. Of those individuals, 30 were ordained or incardinated by the Diocese of Saginaw.

The most recent report is the sixth of seven expected from the Department of Attorney General (DAG), with one report covering each of Michigan’s six Catholic dioceses. A report on the Archdiocese of Detroit is expected to be published later this year.

According to the DAG, the complete accounting regarding allegations within the Diocese of Saginaw compiles information gathered through the DAG’s clergy abuse tip line, interviews, police investigations, open-source media, documents seized from the Diocese of Saginaw, electronic records obtained from the diocesan computers and reports of allegations disclosed by the Diocese.

Previous reports were issued for the Diocese of Marquette in October 2022, Diocese of Gaylord in January 2024, Diocese of Kalamazoo in May 2024, Diocese of Lansing in December 2024 and Diocese of Grand Rapids in December 2025.

Victims of clergy sexual abuse, or their family members, react as Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro speaks during a news conference at the State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., on Aug. 14, 2018. A Pennsylvania grand jury says its investigation of clergy sexual abuse identified more than 1,000 child victims in six Roman Catholic dioceses. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

“This has been a tremendous and important endeavor by many dedicated staff in our office and with the Michigan State Police, and I thank them for their commitment to justice and tireless effort on behalf of the victims,” Nessel said.

According to the DAG, the report was released to acknowledge reports of alleged abuse and provide a public accounting of resources dedicated to investigating and prosecuting clergy abuse.

“This report is only possible because of the bravery of so many, from young children to the elderly, coming forward over decades to share their suffering,” Nessel said. “As always, I commend their strength and thank them for it. Accountability comes in many forms, and by publishing these accounts we hope to foster acknowledgment for these survivors and safer communities today.”

The DAG’s report also contains an undated letter — likely written in or about 2002 — from Ken Untener, a former Bishop of Saginaw, to the parishioners of all parishes within the Diocese of Saginaw. Untener served as the Bishop of Saginaw from 1980 until his death in 2004.

Untener writes in part, “The Diocese of Saginaw has been in existence for 64 years [since 1938]. Over this time, we have experienced within our diocesan family just about every imaginable human failure. Priests are by no means immune from this, and I’m sure this does not come as news to you. I think that people are disappointed and angry not because such sins occur, but because of the way some of these cases have been handled.”

He continues, “Along with you, I have been greatly embarrassed and deeply saddened by what has taken place.”

In its announcement, the DAG noted the department hired and trained a full-time victim advocate to assist those who were allegedly sexually abused as identified during the continued investigation.

State officials said the information identifying certain clergy members was gleaned from a search warrant that was executed against the Diocese of Saginaw in October 2018 and from the tipline operated by the DAG since 2018.

The Diocese of Saginaw reportedly cooperated with investigators and agreed to provide reports of abuse.

“Victims often reach out to their faith leaders to share stories of alleged abuse,” the DAG said in a statement. “The willingness of the Diocese to provide information was instrumental in the compilation of the report.”

The DAG further said that many allegations could not be criminally prosecuted because of statutes of limitations, the death of the accused or because the conduct did not violate Michigan law. In some cases, alleged victims chose not to pursue criminal charges.

The statewide clergy abuse investigation began in October 2018, when 42 Michigan State Police troopers, 15 special agents from the Attorney General’s Office and officers from several law enforcement agencies executed search warrants at Michigan’s seven Catholic dioceses.

According to the DAG, investigators have seized 220 boxes of paper record and more than 3.5 million digital documents, as well as reviewed more than 1.5 million paper documents and over 3.5 million electronic records in their efforts.

Of the 220 boxes of documents seized statewide, 55 boxes containing approximately 137,500 documents were reviewed in connection with the Saginaw investigation. Investigators also reviewed 482,953 electronic records related to the Diocese of Saginaw out of the 3.5 million electronic documents seized.

The investigation has resulted in criminal charges against 11 Catholic priests statewide and convictions in nine cases involving 38 victims. None of the criminal cases involved priests who ministered in the Diocese of Saginaw.

The clergy abuse tip line has generated 1,276 reports statewide, leading to numerous police investigations, at least 180 alleged victim interviews and more than 285 police reports.

In addition, the investigation into the Diocese of Saginaw yielded 180 tips to the DAG’s tipline, 115 of which were provided directly from the Diocese of Saginaw.

Officials emphasized that a criminal charge is merely an allegation and that individuals named in the report are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Inclusion in the report does not constitute a determination that allegations are credible, substantiated or indicative of a crime.

Anyone with information related to clergy abuse can contact the Attorney General’s investigation hotline at 844-324-3374 or email aginvestigations@michigan.gov. Those who have experienced sexual abuse and/or assault seeking support services can call 855-VOICES4.

For more information on the Attorney General’s clergy abuse investigation, visit https://www.michigan.gov/ag/initiatives/catholic-church-clergy-abuse.

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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.