CNA Staff, May 12, 2020 / 14:20 pm
An employee of the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan is suing the diocese, alleging that his fellow employees retaliated against him after he reported that a Saginaw priest sexually abused his son.
Gabriel Villarreal, who had worked as a maintenance man for the diocese for over two decades, in March filed a lawsuit against the diocese alleging that Father Robert DeLand had molested his son during February 2018, which Villarreal reported.
The lawsuit alleges that after Villarreal reported the abuse, diocesan employees began to harass him, referring to him as "the mole [spy,]" cutting his hours and benefits, and taking away his master key.
That same month DeLand, former judicial vicar for the diocese and pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Freeland, was charged with one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of gross indecency between male persons, and one count of attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct/personal injury.