LANSING (WWJ) -- A Waterford priest accused of sexually assaulting a minor was convicted by a jury in Wayne County on Friday, per the Michigan Attorney General's office.
In a Friday press release, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that 60-year-old Joseph "Jack" Baker was convicted of First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct for raping a young boy in 2004. The assault occurred at St. Mary Catholic Church in Wayne, where Baker was a former pastor.
From 2008 until his arrest in 2019, Baker was a pastor at St. Perpetua Parish in Waterford Township. He had previously served as an associate pastor at Sacred Heart in Dearborn and at St. Hugo of the Hills in Bloomfield Hills.
Baker first came under suspicion when an official report was filed with the Archdiocese of Detroit, which was then shared with the lead prosecutor on AG Nessel's clergy abuse team.
In October 2018, as part of the clergy abuse investigation, the AG's office executed search warrants and seized 1.5 million paper documents and 3.5 million electronic documents.
The information obtained has resulted in criminal charges filed against eleven suspects involved with the Catholic Church. It has also lead to several convictions, including Baker's.
AG Nessel spoke to Friday's conviction, calling it "long-awaited justice."
“I want victims of abuse to know they have an advocate in the Attorney General’s office,” she said in the press release.
“We are committed to ensuring that every case of sexual abuse and assault is thoroughly reviewed and that whenever we are able to pursue justice for a victim, we do so aggressively and relentlessly."
Nessel continued, "We must all commit to breaking down the walls of silence that so often surround sexual assault and abuse."
Baker was remanded to the Wayne County Jail until his sentencing hearing, currently scheduled for December 19, 2022.
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