Update: Madison priest arrested, charged with sex-related crimes after undercover operation

The arrest this week of a Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, priest followed an undercover operation in which a member of law enforcement posed as a 14-year-old girl, local media and the diocese’s bishop reported.

Madison Bishop Donald Hying said in an Aug. 27 letter to the people of his diocese that the Waupaca County District Attorney charged Father Andrew Showers with attempted use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, attempted child enticement, and attempted second degree sexual assault of a child in connection with the investigation.

WMTV reported that the criminal complaint, which was filed Aug. 27, states that a Clintonville Police Department sergeant on Aug. 10 created a post on Reddit identifying herself as a 14-year-old girl named Abby and shared edited photos of another officer. The complaint said that Fr. Showers and “Abby” agreed to meet at a hotel on Aug. 24, and police department officials identified the driver via photos he had sent the “teen.”

After he was arrested, Fr. Showers, according to the complaint, drafted an apology letter to “Abby” that said he put his “own desires, wants, and brokenness before (her) wellbeing… and I am sorry that you were the recipient and victim of my poor decisions and selfish pursuits,” WMTV reported.

In his letter, Bishop Hying shared some news that the diocese did not include in its initial communication regarding the arrest of Fr. Showers, which the bishop apologized for. The news was namely that — as an ongoing review of diocesan files, email messages, and phone records revealed — a parent had made a complaint in December 2021 regarding the priest. The diocese’s Aug. 25 statement said that there had been no previous allegations of misconduct connected to the priest.

“The parent expressed concern about pastoral questions which were asked of a male middle-school child during the Sacrament of Confession,” the bishop wrote in his letter. “The parish pastor at that time indicated that if the concerned parent felt the need to, he should report the matter to the police. The parent then reported his concerns to the Lodi Police Department.”

According to WMTV, Lodi Police Department’s report said that a minor reported that Fr. Showers had asked him during confession about masturbation and whether he viewed pornography.

According to an article from WKOW, the ABC affiliate for Madison, the report said that the child’s father spoke to diocesan officials and they said that priests in confession might ask people about sins that people in their age group typically commit. WKOW reported that Lodi Police Chief Wayne Smith said that the department spoke with someone from the diocese who explained that they believed that the questions asked were standard.

According to WKOW, police tried to find out whether Fr. Showers had met the child before or if Fr. Showers had touched or propositioned the child, and the child said no “but mentioned that they did not discuss these specific topics during church classes.”

Smith said in the article, “I don’t know if sexual-related questions are appropriate at that time or certainly not without having made parents aware beforehand.”

WMTV reported that the police department concluded that the situation “did not rise to a criminal act, but was ‘more of a question of appropriateness.’”

WMTV reported that the diocese responded to the 2021 investigation on Aug. 27.

“The police met with the father and child, assessed that the incident did not rise to the level of a criminal act, and so did not refer the matter further or pursue it with the diocese,” the bishop wrote.

Bishop Hying said diocesan staff are working closely with Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish’s pastor to start providing parishioners with mental health support and other resources. He said they are doing the same with the principal of St. James School, where the priest was previously assigned.

“May God be with us in this difficult time and may we take comfort knowing that ‘the Lord is close to the brokenhearted’ (Psalm 34:19),” the bishop wrote.

Like the diocese had in its statement, as CatholicVote reported, the bishop asked people to pray for everyone involved in the situation and reminded them that any allegations of sexual misconduct against minors by priests, deacons, or other church personnel should immediately be brought to the attention of law enforcement officials and the diocese’s Sexual Misconduct Question and Reporting Line, 608-821-3162. 

“I share your profound grief over the allegations, and my prayers are with everyone affected by this case,” the bishop wrote.

The letter said that Fr. Showers will continue to be completely restricted from all public ministry and barred from having contact with minors while the case is ongoing. 

Fr. Showers’ initial appearance in Waupaca County Circuit Court is scheduled for Sept. 30.

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