The case against a Madison priest who’s accused of attempting to sexually assault a child is moving forward.
On Tuesday, Waupaca County Judge Raymond Huber determined there was probable cause to bring charges against 37-year-old Andrew Showers. Showers appeared remotely via Zoom for his initial appearance Tuesday.
Clintonville police arrested Showers last month following a sting operation in which a city police officer posed online as a 14-year-old girl.
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Showers faces a total of three felony charges in Waupaca County. That includes attempted child enticement, attempted sexual assault of a child and attempting to use a computer to a facilitate a child sex crime.
A Clintonville police sergeant first communicated with Showers in August through a sexually explicit forum on the social media site Reddit.
After receiving a private online message from Showers, the sergeant told Showers he was a 14-year-old girl named Abby. The sergeant also shared photos with Showers that were digitally altered to make the person in them appear to be about 14 years old, prosecutors say.
According to a criminal complaint, Showers sent “Abby” a series of sexually explicit questions and sent her a sexually explicit photo. Showers later suggested they meet in-person at a hotel Aug. 25, prosecutors say.
Instead, Showers was met by Clintonville police officers on that day, leading to his arrest at a nearby park.
After officers read Showers his Miranda rights, Showers wrote a letter addressed to “Abby” in which he apologized for putting his “own desires, wants, and brokenness before [her] wellbeing,” and added that he was “sorry that you were the recipient and victim of my poor decisions and selfish pursuits,” the complaint says.
Showers faces other allegations
Showers also faces separate sexual misconduct allegations which have not resulted in any criminal charges thus far.
On Aug. 26, following Showers’ arrest, the Diocese of Madison released a statement that said: “There have been no previous allegations of sexual misconduct connected to Fr. Showers.”
The next day, however, the diocese said that was not the case.
“Continued review of diocesan files, email messages, and phone records revealed that a complaint about Fr. Showers was made by a parent in December of 2021,” an Aug. 27 statement said.
That parent had raised concerns about questions that Showers had asked a 14-year-old boy during Confession, according to the diocese. That included asking the boy whether he broke any of the Ten Commandments, including whether he had engaged in masturbation, according to the diocese.
The child’s parent reported those concerns to their church, as well as to Lodi police, according to the diocese.
“The parish pastor at that time indicated that if the concerned parent felt the need to, he should report the matter to the police,” Bishop Donald Hying said in an Aug. 27 letter. “The police 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. I apologize that this parental complaint was not included in our initial communications.”
On Sept. 4, another allegation against Showers became public during a news conference in Madison, when a woman said Showers had sexually assaulted her in January 2024, leading her to report the incident to Chicago police.
Patricia Moriarty said she was out with friends in Chicago last year when Showers introduced himself to her as a priest and groped her underneath her clothes.
Moriarty’s father, Sean Moriarty, contacted the Diocese of Madison about the incident but never got a call back from the Madison bishop, advocates for survivors of clergy abuse said during the Sept. 4 news conference.
In a statement on Sept. 6, the Diocese of Madison acknowledged that Sean Moriarty had reached out to the diocese in January of 2024 to report that his 23-year-old daughter had been sexually assaulted by one of diocese’s priests.
“While it is true that Mr. Moriarty contacted the Diocese and that the Diocese
communicated directly with him by both phone and email, it is critically important to note that Mr. Moriarty would not share essential information with diocesan staff designated to handle allegations, including the name of the priest, the location where the alleged incident occurred, and/or which police
department was investigating,” the statement said. “Had we known that Fr. Showers was the priest in question behind the 2024 allegation, immediate action could and would have been taken.”
The statement also acknowledged that Hying did not call Sean Moriarty back.
“Once a police investigation has been launched (which Mr. Moriarty said was the case here), the Church’s abuse reporting protocols, which were put in place precisely to preserve the integrity of investigations and protect victims, preclude the bishop from speaking with those who have made allegations,” the statement said. “This important precaution is there to remove any possibility or even suspicion of witness tampering, victim coercion, or potential cover-up.”
Showers posted his $10,000 bond last month. He’s due in court next on Dec. 3 for a status conference.
Showers’ attorney, Christopher T. Van Wagner, declined to comment Tuesday. The diocese of Madison said it is not paying for Showers’ attorney and did not help him pay to post his bond.
Last month, the diocese said it had suspended Showers from public ministry while the criminal investigation is ongoing.
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