Profile Facts
- Name
- Franklin Dennis Hay
- Role
- Priest
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lansing
- Ordained
- 1928
- Status
- Accused
- Died
- 7/25/1986
- Records
- Diocesan and public records
If you were harmed by Father Franklin Dennis Hay 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 Franklin Dennis Hay, drawn from public records and investigative reporting. If you recognize his name, confidential help is available.
Sexual Abuse in the Diocese of Lansing
Michigan’s Catholic Church is organized into seven dioceses: Archdiocese of Detroit, Diocese of Saginaw, Diocese of Kalamazoo, Diocese of Grand Rapids, Diocese of Marquette, and Diocese of Gaylord, and the Diocese of Lansing. 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 Franklin Dennis Hay comes from the Diocese of Lansing, 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 Franklin Dennis Hay, your parish, or your school.
The Allegations Against Father Franklin Dennis Hay
Where He Served
Franklin Dennis Hay was ordained for the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1928 and was incardinated into the Diocese of Lansing when it was created in 1937, according to published diocesan records. He served as pastor of St. Mary’s in Durand for 27 years and retired in 1976.
What Was Reported
Published records indicate that in December 2006, a man reported to the Diocese that when he was an altar boy in the early 1960s, Hay sexually abused him. The priest allegedly pulled the boy’s pants down and fondled him, and on the boy’s birthday allegedly poked the boy’s bottom with a needle. The man said Hay also did this to his brother and other altar boys. The Diocesan Review Board determined there was not enough evidence and would not investigate further because Hay had died more than 25 years earlier. He was included in the Michigan Attorney General’s December 2024 report on the Diocese of Lansing.
Hay died on July 25, 1986. He can no longer be criminally prosecuted, but Michigan survivors may still bring civil claims against his estate and the diocese.
Criminal vs. Civil Sexual Abuse Cases
Criminal prosecution punishes the offender; civil litigation compensates the victim. When prosecutors charge a priest like Father Franklin Dennis Hay, 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 Franklin Dennis Hay 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 Franklin Dennis Hay 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 Franklin Dennis Hay 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 Franklin Dennis Hay.
Damages in a case involving Father Franklin Dennis Hay 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.