Roman Catholic dioceses across Michigan turn over documents in priest probe

DETROIT – Roman Catholic dioceses across Michigan have turned over documents in a state investigation of sexual abuse by priests.

Investigators with search warrants collected records Wednesday, about two weeks after Attorney General Bill Schuette said his office was leading a probe. The new emphasis comes after a Pennsylvania grand jury said more than 1,000 children have been molested there since the 1940s.

The Detroit Archdiocese says it “cooperated fully.” The Saginaw Diocese says investigators were at headquarters throughout the day. Schuette spokeswoman Andrea Bitely declined to comment.

A priest in the Saginaw area, the Rev. Robert DeLand, recently withdrew his no-contest plea to criminal sexual conduct after the judge disagreed with a one-year jail sentence. He’ll now go to trial.