LANSING – A Catholic priest in Michigan has been charged with false imprisonment after holding a teenage boy against his will in a janitor's room of a church by wrapping him tightly in plastic wrap and using masking tape over his eyes and mouth, according to the attorney general.
The Rev. Brian Stanley, 57, of Coloma, is charged with one count of false imprisonment, a 15-year felony, and would have to register as a sex offender upon conviction, Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
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The boy's family asked Stanley to help counsel their son, according to officials.
Stanley is accused of imprisoning the boy against his will in the fall of 2013 at St. Margaret's Catholic Church in Otsego.
Officials said Stanley immobilized the boy by wrapping him tightly in plastic wrap and using masking tape as additional binding and over his eyes and mouth.
Stanley left the boy bound and alone in the room for longer than an hour before letting him go, according to authorities.
Authorities said it is apparent from Kalamazoo diocesan records that Stanley had used binding materials in this way for decades.
Stanley's crimes were sexually motivated, officials said.
"As our team continues to pore over what we previously thought was hundreds of thousands of pages of documents-- but is now known to be millions of pages -- seized from all seven Michigan dioceses last year, we know this is still only the beginning," Nessel said. "This is about taking on large-scale institutions that turn a blind eye to victims and making certain we hold them accountable -- that includes unapologetically pursuing any and all individuals who abuse their power to victimize our residents."
The charge against Stanley comes after files were seized in October 2018.