Profile Facts
- Name
- James Aloysius Mulvey
- Role
- Priest
- Diocese
- Diocese of Saginaw
- Ordained
- 1905
- Status
- Accused
- Died
- 11/7/1959
- Records
- Diocesan and public records
Father James Aloysius Mulvey was a longtime Bay City pastor accused of molesting grade-school girls who were helping with the Sunday collection. This profile from White Law PLLC’s clergy sexual abuse lawyers sets out the public record.
The reported abuse allegedly happened at the rectory, in the most ordinary of parish settings. Survivors whose abuse occurred in similar everyday circumstances should know their experiences fit a documented pattern.
Sexual Abuse in the Diocese of Saginaw
Mulvey was ordained for the Diocese of Grand Rapids in 1905 and became a priest of the Diocese of Saginaw when it was established in 1938. Michigan’s seven dioceses, the Archdiocese of Detroit and the dioceses of Lansing, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Gaylord, Marquette, and Kalamazoo, were all included in the Attorney General’s clergy abuse investigation begun in 2018.
The Attorney General’s June 2026 report on the Diocese of Saginaw recounts the allegations against Mulvey. A Michigan clergy sexual abuse lawyer can help survivors understand the report and its relevance to a civil claim.
The Allegations Against Father James Aloysius Mulvey
Pastor of St. Boniface
According to published records, Mulvey was pastor of St. Boniface in Bay City from 1942 to 1959. The Saginaw diocese named him publicly as credibly accused on its list of April 10, 2019. He died on November 7, 1959.
The Sunday Collection Account
The Michigan Attorney General’s June 2026 report on the Diocese of Saginaw states that in 2018, a woman reported that Mulvey molested her and another girl when they were grade-schoolers at St. Boniface. The girls were helping Mulvey with the Sunday collection at the rectory when he allegedly had them sit in his lap and then fondled their breasts. The woman said she later told the other girl’s father, who went to the rectory and confronted Mulvey. Nothing further was done.
Criminal vs. Civil Sexual Abuse Cases
Father Mulvey died in 1959, so criminal prosecution has been impossible for well over half a century. The criminal system closed on his case generations ago.
Civil accountability is a separate question. Survivors may pursue claims against the diocese, and the reported confrontation at the rectory, after which nothing was done, speaks directly to institutional awareness and inaction.
Statute of Limitations on Clergy Sexual Abuse Cases in Michigan
Michigan Legislature §600.5805 generally sets the civil deadline for sexual abuse claims at ten years from the abuse or the survivor’s 28th birthday, whichever is later. Michigan law imposes no limitations period for first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Allegations from the 1940s or 1950s face the most difficult timing barriers in the law. Even so, an individualized legal review is worthwhile, because exceptions and legal developments can change the answer.
View All Accused Clergy in Michigan
Pursue Justice With Help From White Law PLLC
If Father Mulvey abused you or a family member, contact White Law PLLC at (517) 316-1195 for a free, confidential consultation. Our office is at .
No matter how much time has passed, your story matters. We will listen with respect and advise you honestly.
Profiles summarize published records and allegations. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding.