MADISON (NBC 26) — More people are alleging sexual assault by the same priest who was arrested in Clintonville last month in a police sting operation.
"Despite the difficulties involved in coming forward, I am determined to reclaim my voice and my power," Patricia Moriarty said while tearing up outside the Wisconsin Capitol Building on Thursday. "I share my story not just for myself, but for everyone who is still carrying their pain in silence like I once did."
Moriarty, along with Nate's Mission — a Wisconsin-based organization that seeks to help end sexual abuse by clergy — and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), spoke outside the Capitol building, calling on lawmakers and church leaders to take action and hold clergy accountable.
Moriarty alleges that she was hanging out with friends in Chicago in January 2024, when Andrew Showers — a priest from Madison — introduced himself to her as a priest. She claims Showers then groped her underneath her clothes and talked to her in a sexually inappropriate way.
Moriarty says she did not know Showers prior.
"I'm here today to hopefully make a change and encourage others to speak their truths as well, and hopefully put an end to more pain at the hands of Father Showers," Moriarty said.
Sarah Pearson, the deputy director for Nate's Mission, says Moriarty's father called the Diocese of Madison about the incident.
"And guess what? Bishop [Donald] Hying failed to call him back," Pearson said. "He gave them forms to fill out, but he refused to make direct contact with Patricia's father so that he could make this report."
Pearson says Moriarty's family went to the Chicago Police Department, which opened an investigation.
Showers, 37, is facing child sex crimes after prosecutors say he attempted to arrange sex with a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
According to a criminal complaint, Showers was actually talking to a Clintonville Police Department sergeant, who was posing as the child.
Showers sent a photo of himself with his genitals partially exposed and requested to meet the fictitious 14-year-old in person, according to the complaint. Conversations between the suspect and the undercover sergeant became sexually explicit, investigators said, and a meet-up was arranged at a park in Clintonville.
Officers identified Showers alone in a car as it pulled up to the meet-up location, and he was taken into custody without incident. The complaint states Showers had room keys for a hotel in Clintonville.
The Diocese of Madison has since acknowledged that police got involved with Showers in a separate case in December 2021, after a parent shared concerns about the questions Showers asked his middle-school child during confession. The bishop says the police determined that the incident did not constitute a criminal act.
"I apologize that this parental complaint was not included in our initial communications," Bishop Hying said in a letter to diocese members.
The diocese previously said there were no allegations of misconduct by Showers.
Showers faces felony charges of Attempted 2nd-Degree Sexual Assault of a Child, Attempted Child Enticement, and Attempted Use of a Computer to Facilitate a Child Sex Crime in Waupaca County.
Court records show Showers posted a $10,000 cash bond on Aug. 28. He is due back in court for an initial appearance on Sept. 30.
According to the Diocese of Madison, Showers is restricted from all public ministry and banned from having contact with minors while the case continues.
"I also recognize that the nature of the allegations is particularly difficult for parents," Hying said in the letter. "The charges and the information contained in the criminal complaint are terribly distressing. I continue to ask for your prayers for everyone involved in this situation."
According to the Diocese of Madison, Showers was the parochial vicar at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Madison. He previously served in Berlin and Green Lake.
Showers was ordained in 2017.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul opened an inquiry into abuse by clergy and church leaders in 2021.
"There are tens of thousands of pages of internal church files about abusers across this state and what the church officials have done or not done with them," SNAP co-founder Peter Isely said. "And as to date, no diocese or religious order has complied with [Attorney General Josh Kaul's] request for documents. And we've been urging him to issue civil subpoenas to get those documents, and we feel this case is going to give him what he needs to finally do that."
