Profile Facts
- Name
- Donald J. Heydens
- Role
- Priest
- Diocese
- Diocese of Grand Rapids
- Ordained
- 1970
- Status
- Settled
- Records
- Diocesan and public records
If you were harmed by Father Donald J. Heydens or another member of the Catholic clergy, you deserve a legal team that understands both the trauma and the law. As clergy sexual abuse lawyers, White Law PLLC has spent years standing with Michigan residents who were harmed by priests, brothers, and deacons.
Below you will find the reported history of Father Donald J. Heydens, drawn from public records and investigative reporting. If you recognize his name, confidential help is available.
Sexual Abuse in the Diocese of Grand Rapids
Michigan’s Catholic Church is organized into seven dioceses: Archdiocese of Detroit, Diocese of Lansing, Diocese of Saginaw, Diocese of Kalamazoo, Diocese of Marquette, and Diocese of Gaylord, and the Diocese of Grand Rapids. When the Michigan Attorney General launched a statewide investigation into clergy abuse in 2018, investigators examined files from every one of them. The public record on Father Donald J. Heydens comes from the Diocese of Grand Rapids, one of the dioceses whose files were reviewed.
Those diocesan reports named dozens of accused clergy and revealed patterns of reassignment and secrecy. Speaking with a Michigan clergy sexual abuse lawyer is the fastest way to learn what the investigation uncovered about Father Donald J. Heydens, your parish, or your school.
The Allegations Against Father Donald J. Heydens
Where He Served
Donald J. Heydens was ordained for the Diocese of Grand Rapids in 1970, according to published diocesan records. He was assigned to St. Francis Xavier Parish, later worked with the Sisters at Aquinata, in jail ministry, and with the Tribunal, and was appointed Diocesan Director of the Permanent Diaconate in May 2000.
What Survivors Reported
Published records indicate that in the early 1990s, the Diocese substantiated allegations that Heydens sexually abused four teenage girls while assigned to St. Francis Xavier Parish in the early 1970s, with out-of-court settlements reached in 1989 and 1994. In 1993, a fifth woman alleged abuse as a teenager, and another woman filed suit in June 1993 alleging Heydens sexually abused her as a teenager in the late 1960s. He was sent in 1993 to the Isaac Ray Center for psychiatric evaluation, then removed from parish ministry and restricted to no unsupervised contact with minors.
Further reports include: a February 1994 account from a woman who said she was sexually abused as an adult by Heydens in the summer of 1989; a July 1994 report from a woman who said Heydens sexually abused her in high school after she attempted suicide, that her family told Msgr. Zerfas twice with no action, and that she told the school principal, Sr. Edith, who expelled her; an October 2004 report of sexual abuse by Heydens and another priest; and a September 2019 report from a woman who said that as a high schooler in the mid-1980s, Heydens stared at her breasts, put his hands on her buttocks, and swiped her breasts. He was removed from all ministry in July 2002, after the June 2002 Dallas Bishops Conference, and assigned to a “life of prayer and penance.” He was included in the Michigan Attorney General’s December 15, 2025 report on the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Heydens is reported to be living, so criminal options may still exist, and civil options apply regardless.
Criminal vs. Civil Sexual Abuse Cases
Criminal prosecution punishes the offender; civil litigation compensates the victim. When prosecutors charge a priest like Father Donald J. Heydens, the goal is conviction and sentencing. When a survivor sues, the goal is accountability and the resources needed to heal.
Because the systems are separate, the outcome of one does not control the other. Survivors in Michigan often have viable civil claims connected to accused clergy such as Father Donald J. Heydens even where no criminal case was ever brought.
Statute of Limitations on Clergy Sexual Abuse Cases in Michigan
Michigan law sets different clocks for different cases. Civil claims for clergy sexual abuse must generally be filed within ten years or before the survivor turns 28 under §600.5805, while first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges carry no statute of limitations at all, a rule that applies to reports involving Father Donald J. Heydens as well.
Delayed disclosure is the norm, not the exception, trauma and memory loss keep many survivors from speaking up until well into adulthood. An experienced attorney can determine whether an exception or tolling rule keeps a claim involving Father Donald J. Heydens alive.
View All Accused Clergy in Michigan
Pursue Justice With Help From White Law PLLC
Accountability does not stop with the individual cleric. Michigan law allows survivors to pursue the abuser’s estate as well as the institutions that employed him, where leaders were aware of the risk, or should have been, yet failed to stop the abuse, concealed it, or skipped basic screening and training of clergy such as Father Donald J. Heydens.
Damages in a case involving Father Donald J. Heydens can cover medical and therapy costs, pain and suffering, and lasting emotional distress. Contact White Law PLLC at (517) 316-1195.
Profiles summarize published records and allegations. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding.