MI - Sex charges dropped against former Catholic teacher, SNAP responds
A former Catholic school teacher accused of inappropriate sexual activity with children has pled guilty to domestic violence charges and had the child abuse charges against him dropped.
According to Lansing prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III, the state believed their case against Christopher deMorrow was strong enough to convict without requiring the young children to testify and potentially re-traumatize themselves. DeMorrow, who had previously taught at St. Michael’s in Grand Ledge, had been accused of inappropriately touching and licking children, and allegedly masturbated in front of them.
It's always easy to second guess police and prosecutors, and wanting abused kids to be spared the trauma of a trial is admirable. Still, we are troubled by the dropping of child sex charges against this Catholic teacher. Especially given the depraved nature of the accusations in combination with the fact that deMorrow was a teacher we would have liked to see the prosecutor’s office follow through on these charges as well.
We are glad that deMorrow was convicted and we hope that he receives a stiff sentence that includes jail time. We encourages others who may have seen, suspected, or suffered crimes by deMorrow to come forward and make a report to police today.
Read the story here...
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director