The Diocese of Lansing today welcomed the conviction of former priest, Timothy Crowley, for sexual crimes against a minor. 74-year-old Crowley pleaded guilty to two counts of Second Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct at Washtenaw County Circuit Court, Wednesday, August 22.
“Crowley’s crimes were a gross betrayal of the trust placed in him by the Catholic community within the Diocese of Lansing and, especially, of those families and young people entrusted to his pastoral care,” said David Kerr, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Lansing, August 23.
“While giving thanks that justice has been served, the primary focus of our prayer today is for the victim whose bravery led to the present conviction and also for anyone else who may have been harmed by Crowley. To them we say: ‘This should not have happened to you and we are profoundly sorry that it ever did’.”
Timothy Crowley was ordained a priest of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost religious order in 1976. He was incardinated into Diocese of Lansing in 1982.
It was in 1993 that an allegation of sexual abuse against a minor was first leveled against Crowley. At that time he was serving as pastor of Saint Thomas the Apostle parish in Ann Arbor. Crowley was duly removed from ministry by the late Bishop Kenneth Povish of Lansing (1924 – 2003). With the adoption of the Dallas Charter by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002, Crowley's removal from ministry became permanent.
In 2003, the Diocese of Lansing shared information with the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office regarding Crowley but was informed that the prosecutor was unable to bring charges due to the statute of limitations. Crowley was dismissed from the priesthood in 2015.
In 2019, the Diocese of Lansing published Crowley’s name on a list of priests credibly accused of abusing minors. Meanwhile, also in 2019, Crowley was arrested in Tempe, Arizona. His case was initially dismissed after a preliminary examination, again due to the statute of limitations, but the Michigan Attorney General’s office subsequently prevailed in the Court of Appeals leading to yesterday’s guilty plea.
The sentencing agreement for Crowley includes serving five-years on probation and requires him to spend the first year in jail, receive sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender. Sentencing is scheduled for November 8, 2023.
* The Diocese of Lansing employs a Victim Assistance Coordinator to provide support and assistance to individuals who have been abused by clergy, even if the abuse happened many years ago. The Diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator is Lisa Veenstra, LMSW. Lisa can be contacted toll-free at 888-308-6252 or vac@dioceseoflansing.org. Individuals are also encouraged to report clergy sexual abuse of minors directly to law enforcement, even if the abuse happened many years ago.