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UPDATE::  Catholic priest pleads no contest to sex assault charge, avoids second trial 

A Catholic priest in Saginaw County has pleaded no contest to a sexual assault charge and two other charges, avoiding a second trial scheduled to begin on Tuesday, March 26.

The Rev. Robert J. “Father Bob” DeLand appeared Tuesday before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson and pleaded no contest to three charges - second-degree criminal sexual conduct, gross indecency between two males, and manufacturing or distributing an imitation controlled substance. The most serious charge is second-degree criminal sexual conduct, which is a 15-year felony.

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This marks the second time DeLand has pleaded no contest in the matter, having previously done so to all seven charges he faced in September. DeLand withdrew his plea several weeks later.

While DeLand is off the streets for only a year, as prosecutors have noted, the investigation is not over.

UPDATE:: Catholic priest 'Father Bob' pleads no contest to sexual assault charges

In an eleventh-hour hearing, Roman Catholic priest the Rev. Robert J. "Father Bob" DeLand Jr. pleaded no contest to multiple charges that see him convicted of sexually assaulting several young males.

DeLand, 71, in the late afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 4, appeared before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson and pleaded no contest to all seven charges he faced -- two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving injury and single counts of attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct, assault with intent to commit second-degree criminal sexual conduct, gross indecency between males, selling alcohol to a minor and distributing an imitation controlled substance.

The charges are divided among five files and involve three victims. The most serious crime is second-degree criminal sexual conduct, being a 15-year felony. The charge does not involve penetration and is limited to touching.

UPDATE::  Motions to dismiss charges against local priest accused of sexual assault denied

On Monday, DeLand's attorney called for the charges to be dismissed on a number of grounds including religious discrimination and entrapment.

All motions to dismiss the charges against DeLand were denied.

The case will move forward as three separate trials.

UPDATE::  Saginaw-area priest arraigned for 2nd time on sex charges

 A Saginaw-area Catholic priest has been arraigned a second time on sexual assault charges.

The Saginaw News reports that the Rev. Robert DeLand appeared Friday in Saginaw County District Court via video from jail.

The 71-year-old DeLand is charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct, assault with intent to commit second-degree criminal sexual conduct, manufacturing or distributing an imitation controlled substance and selling or furnishing alcohol to a minor.

A local priest has gone before a judge, accused of multiple sex crimes.

Father Robert DeLand, Jr., a pastor at St. Agnes Church in Freeland, was arrested in the late hours of Feb. 25 after months of investigation.

DeLand, 71, was first accused of sexual assault in August of 2017 by a then 21-year-old man who claimed the incident happened at DeLand’s house on Mallard Cove in Saginaw Township, according to Det. Brian Berg with the Tittabawassee Township Police Department.
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As a result, the Catholic priest is now banned from Freeland Community Schools and the CAN Council where he serves as a board member.

"He had been warned by the courts not to have any contact with the victims. Whose only words to the court was, 'judge can I please have the names of the victims,'" Saginaw County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mark Gaertner said.

Gaertner said complaints started to come in on the Catholic priest in August 2017.

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