They loaded vehicles with boxes and filing cabinets – everything they could find related to potential sexual abuse by priests who have worked in Michigan from 19-50 until now.
Attorney General Dana Nessel said Michigan is the first state to execute a search warrant on the Church in this way.
“We did not depend on the dioceses to turn over documents which is what primarily happened in other states.”
Nessel said she expects her office’s investigation to last at least two years.
“Hundreds of thousands of documents were seized during the raids and an investigative team is reviewing more than 300 tips already received. “
Attorney General Dana Nessel was slim on details about the investigation since it is ongoing. But Michigan State Police Colonel Joe Gasper said not all dioceses are being as cooperative as investigators would like.
“I think that the level of cooperation…it varies. But what’s important is that from a standpoint of the investigation that the two agencies are undergoing it’s important that that take priority over any parallel investigation.”
When Gasper said “parallel investigation,” he’s talking about the dioceses that have conducted their own reviews into priests suspected of abuse.
Nessel wanted all the dioceses to stop doing that. And she said if a church official is trying to conduct its own investigation, people should not cooperate.
“And what I would like to say to the public is this: If an investigator comes to your door and asks to speak with you, please ask to see their badge and not their rosary.”
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