Former St. Joseph Church, now part of St. Vincent Pallotti Parish, Wyandotte.
Gary Berthiaume
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – Gary Berthiaume, 79, who served during the 1970s as a priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wyandotte, has been sentenced after pleading guilty in a sexual abuse case.
St. Joseph is now part of the St. Vincent Pallotti Parish.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Jan. 20 that Berthiaume will serve 17 months to 15 years in prison for two counts of second degree criminal sexual contact, and 17 months to five years for one count of gross indecency. He was sentenced in Oakland County Circuit Court by Judge Daniel P. O’Brien.
The charges stem from three cases in the 1970s from victims who were 13 to 15 years old at the time.
Berthiaume will be registered as a Tier II sex offender and will undergo counseling.
Nessel said that securing justice for victims of abuse remains a top priority.
“While we recognize no sentence can ever undo the harm inflicted on survivors of sexual abuse, it remains our top priority to secure accountability for those who bravely share their stories,” she said.
To learn more, or to contact the clergy abuse investigative team, call 844-324-3374 or go to the attorney general’s website at Michigan.gov, and search “AG Initiatives Open Investigations.”