A former priest in Oakland County has pleaded guilty to sex abuse, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Monday.
Gary Berthiaume, 79, was sent to trial in July by Judge James Brady in Oakland County’s 47th District Court on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC), 15-year felonies. That development involved the original case against him, which was charged last year.
In June, Berthiaume was charged with additional felonies in two new cases. Both cases were sent to trial by the end of September.
All three cases stem from allegations of abuse in the 1970s involving three different victims who were between 13- and 15-years-old at the time. Berthiaume was a priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wyandotte and later Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington during that timeframe.
Monday before Judge Daniel O’Brien, Berthiaume pleaded guilty to the following:
• To counts of second-degree CSC, 15-year felonies.
He pleaded no contest to a third charge:
• One count of gross indecency, a 5-year felony or $2,500 fine.
The pleas reflect one count in each of the three cases.
"This plea secures long-awaited justice for those who bravely came forward with their stories,” Nessel said. “My clergy abuse investigation team continues to work tirelessly to reach similar outcomes in our additional cases.”
Sentencing is set for Dec. 20.
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