ALLEGAN, MI (WTVB) – A Catholic priest who used to be the pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Coldwater and Our Lady of Fatima in Union City was given a 60 day jail sentence on Monday by Allegan County Circuit Court Chief Judge Margaret Bakker after he pleaded guilty to one felony count of Attempted False Imprisonment.
57-year-old Father Brian Stanley entered the plea in November.
His was the second conviction in the ongoing investigation of clergy abuse by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Documents seized by the attorney general’s office from Catholic Diocese offices around the state led to Stanley being charged
Stanley was given credit for two days already served and he will be required to register as a sex offender for 15 years. He was also placed on probation for five years.
Stanley was charged in August after being accused of holding a teenaged boy against his will in the janitor’s room of St. Margaret’s Church in Coloma in 2013.
Stanley reportedly immobilized the young man by wrapping him tightly in plastic wrap, then used masking tape as additional binding and to cover his eyes and mouth. Stanley left the victim, bound and alone, in the janitor’s room for an extended period of time before returning and eventually letting him go.
The teen’s parents had taken him to Stanley for counseling due to poor grades and drug use.
Nessel said in a statement released by her office on Monday, ““Mr. Stanley took advantage of a vulnerable victim and today he is being held accountable. We continue to review information seized from all seven Michigan dioceses in 2018, and we will thoroughly evaluate accusations and complaints brought forth by victims. For too long, criminal behavior by members of the clergy has gone unnoticed, and that must stop.”
