DETROIT (AP) — A Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after a Detroit-area jury said it was having trouble reaching a unanimous verdict in his sexual abuse trial.
The attorney general’s office says the Rev. Patrick Casey pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated assault. He was accused of engaging in sex acts with a younger man who was struggling with his Catholic faith and homosexuality and had sought Casey’s counsel in 2013.
The maximum penalty is a year in jail.
Casey at the time was a priest in Westland. TV station WXYZ reports that a Wayne County jury was deadlocked during deliberations Monday. Casey had been charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony.
The Detroit Archdiocese says it learned about the allegations in 2015 and banned Casey from any form of church ministry.
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