An Ontonagon County judge handed down the harshest prison sentence yet in the Michigan Department of Attorney General’s clergy abuse investigation.
Last month, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a plea agreement with Gary Jacobs, a former priest in the Upper Peninsula who faced cases in both Ontonagon and Dickinson Counties. The plea hearing in Dickinson County happened earlier this month.
The Ontonagon sentencing, which happened before Circuit Court Judge Michael Pope earlier this week, involves guilty pleas on three counts of criminal sexual conduct 1st degree and one count of criminal sexual conduct 2nd degree.
As reached in the plea agreement, Jacobs was sentenced between eight and 15 years on each count, which will run concurrently.
Additionally, Jacobs will be required to complete:
• Lifetime sex offender registration related to the CSC 1st degree counts.
• Tier II registration on the CSC 2nd degree charge.
• Sex offender counseling.
• Lifetime electronic monitoring when released.
“A lengthy prison sentence will never erase the pain Mr. Jacobs inflicted on those who trusted him, but it serves as an example of our pursuit of justice related to clergy abuse and, hopefully, can provide some sense of relief,” Nessel said. “We are indebted to those who came forward to make him accountable for his actions. Their courage to speak up is what drove these proceedings, so that while justice was delayed, it was certainly not denied.“
It was also important to the attorney general’s clergy abuse team that survivors of Jacobs’ abuse be heard if they so chose. Nine people submitted or read victim impact statements during the sentencing.
“I believe child sexual abuse is worse than murder. Once you are dead you are finished. When you are abused, you endure the mental anguish for the rest of your life. The sexual abuse that [Gary Jacobs] inflicted on me has interfered and destroyed my life. The ripple effects of this man’s crime against me as a boy are still present and he must be held accountable by serving his maximum sentence,” one survivor said.
A sentencing date in Dickinson County is set for Friday, July 2, at noon. That guilty plea involves one count of criminal sexual conduct 2nd degree.
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