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Coldwater Issues Statement Regardng Arrest Of Priest
Tuesday, August 27, 2019

The City of Coldwater issued a press release regarding the arrest and allegations of criminal sexual conduct against 57 year old Father Brian Stanley City Manager Keith Baker says on February 6, 2017, a representative of the Kalamazoo Diocese of the Catholic Church contacted the Coldwater Police Department.

They requested an investigation into possible criminal conduct alleged to have been perpetrated by Stanley, who at the time served as priest of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Coldwater and at Our Lady Of Fatima (FAT-ih-MAH) Church in Union City. Coldwater Police started an investigation into alleged conduct that the Diocese says occurred between 2002 and 2004. Officers determined that no further action could be taken at that time because the alleged victim did not wish to participate in the investigation.

Baker says the City of Coldwater and the Coldwater Police take all reports of criminal activity seriously. If anyone has additional information regarding this matter, or if anyone would like to report possible physical or sexual abuse, please contact the Coldwater Police at 517-278-4525.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced August 22 that Stanley had been
arrested in Coloma. He is charged with one count of False Imprisonment. Stanley is accused of taking a teenage boy and holding him against his will in a janitor's room at St. Margaret's Church in Otsego in 2013. It's alleged that Stanley tied the boy up and then wrapped him in plastic wrap, and used masking tape to cover his eyes and mouth. Stanley left the boy alone for over an hour before eventually letting him go.

The arrest was made after Nessel seized files from the Diocese in October 2018. It
showed the victim's family asked Stanley to council their son. Other files showed Stanley had been engaging in this type of conduct for decades.



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