Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Catholic Troy, MI, USA · 2019

Hurmiz Ishak: Chaldean Catholic subdeacon convicted of assaulting a teen altar boy at his church

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

subdeacon, St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church, Troy, Michigan, sacristan with church-opening and closing access since 1997

Organization

St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church, Troy, Michigan, Chaldean Diocese of St. Thomas the Apostle U.S.A.

Spiritual nexus

Ishak was a subdeacon and longtime sacristan at St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church, roles that gave him sacred liturgical standing and physical access to the church building and to a teen altar server, whom he assaulted between May 2017 and October 2018. The diocese's own statement and press reporting establish that his position — assisting at services and controlling access to the church — was the means of contact with the victim, not merely the setting.

Pastoral or clerical authority
Institutional obedience or isolation

Evidence structure

Proceedings

2019-09-27 · jury verdict and sentence

Oakland County Circuit Court, Michigan. A jury convicted Ishak on August 29, 2019 of one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct (acquitting on other counts). On September 27, 2019, the court sentenced him to 48 months to 15 years in prison, with parole eligibility after four years.

Documented coercion mechanisms

sacred liturgical role (subdeacon/sacristan) giving unsupervised access to a teen altar server
decades of trusted standing in the parish (served since 1997)
control of access to church spaces before and after services

Primary record

Sources

official diocesan statement institutional disclosure Chaldean Diocese of St. Thomas the Apostle U.S.A., 'Sentencing of Chaldean Church Worker Found Guilty of Child Sexual Abuse' (Sept. 2019).: The diocese's own statement confirms the September 27, 2019 sentencing, the 48-month-to-15-year term, the Oakland County Circuit Court venue, and Ishak's role as sacristan since 1997.
trade legal press criminal disposition and nexus Legal News (Michigan), 'Former church worker sent to prison for assault' (Oct. 2019).: Reports the sentence, parole eligibility after four years, and identifies the victim as a teen altar boy assaulted through Ishak's subdeacon and sacristan access to the church.
metro newspaper court reporting criminal charge corroboration The Detroit News, 'Troy sub-deacon charged with sex assaults on teen boy' (Nov. 1, 2018).: Contemporaneous charging-stage reporting corroborating the church setting, dates of the alleged conduct (May 2017-October 2018), and Ishak's subdeacon role.

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