Former priest charged with sex crime against child returns to court Dec. 2

A former priest charged with a sex crime against a child at a Farmington church where he once worked had his Wednesday court proceeding rescheduled to Dec. 2, due to reported COVID-19 infections among his attorney’s staff and other matters.

Gary Berthiaume, 78, appeared Wednesday morning via Zoom before 47th District Judge James Brady alongside his attorney, Michael Smith, for a scheduled pre- exam conference. Smith requested an adjournment stating three of his staff members were recently infected with COVID-19 and everyone would be working remotely for the time being. He also said that he and the prosecution were awaiting some evidence from the Attorney General’s Office, who had brought the charges against Berthiaume.

Berthiaume, arrested last month at his home in Illinois, faces one count of second- degree criminal conduct for allegedly assaulting a young boy in the rectory of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in 1977.

The charge, punishable by up to 15 years in prison on conviction, stems from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s allegations into sexual abuse within seven Catholic dioceses across the state.

This isn’t Berthiaume’s first run-in with the law regarding sexual misconduct. In 1977, he was arrested for sexual assault of two children in Michigan and served six months in the Oakland County Jail. The church then transferred him to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio. He was moved again 10 years later to the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois.

Working for that diocese, Berthiaume reportedly was assigned to a retreat house for two years and then served as a hospital chaplain from 1990 to 2002. He was officially removed as a member of the clergy in 2007.

Berthiaume is among several men with connections to the Catholic Church who have been charged with crimes by the Michigan AG’s office following the seizure of a vast amount of documents two years ago.

Another case tied to Oakland County involves Father Joseph “Jack” Baker who was serving as a pastor of St. Perpetua Catholic Church in Waterford when he was charged last year with first- degree criminal sexual conduct-sexual penetration with a person less than 13 years old.

It’s alleged that the assault happened in a storage room of St. Mary Catholic Church in Wayne in 2004. A trial is pending in Wayne County Circuit Court.