A Michigan priest who preyed on a 5-year-old boy after a family funeral in 1987 pleaded guilty this week to sexual assault, the state’s attorney general confirmed.
Vincent DeLorenzo, 84, who served for many years in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted criminal sexual conduct in the first degree. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges in connection with the sexual assault of another 5-year-old boy starting in 1995 through 2000.
In addition, DeLorenzo will have to pay restitution, undergo counseling and listen to a victim impact statement if one is made at sentencing.
Prosecutors offered DeLorenzo the plea after consulting with the priest’s accusers, of which there were more than two, according to Nessel’s office.
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It was not immediately clear whether the 5-year-old, who is now around 40 years old, that DeLorenzo admitted molesting after presiding over the burial of the boy’s relative, would be at the sentencing. Appearing before Genesee Circuit Judge Brian S. Pickell and flanked by his attorney, Michael Manley, DeLorenzo admitted Tuesday that he assaulted the boy. He told the judge he’d been asked to meet with the boy because the child had been acting out.
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