Profile Facts
- Name
- Jason E. Sigler
- Role
- Priest
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Detroit
- Ordained
- 1964
- Status
- Convicted
- Records
- Diocesan and public records
If Father Jason E. Sigler abused you or someone you love, the clergy sexual abuse lawyers at White Law PLLC are here to help. This profile summarizes what has been publicly reported about him.
Below, we summarize Father Sigler’s assignments, the reported abuse, and the legal options Michigan survivors still have. No public record lists his death, so criminal charges may still be possible alongside a civil claim. An attorney can assess which path fits a survivor’s situation.
Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Detroit
Father Jason E. Sigler served in the Archdiocese of Detroit, one of seven Catholic dioceses in Michigan. Those seven dioceses, Detroit, Gaylord, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Marquette, Saginaw, have each faced scrutiny over their handling of abuse reports, including reports like those against Father Sigler.
Michigan’s Attorney General began investigating clergy sexual abuse in 2018, a probe that reached into each of the seven dioceses and helped expose patterns like those in Father Sigler’s record. Patterns of abuse and institutional cover-ups emerged from that review, and a Michigan clergy sexual abuse lawyer can help survivors of Father Sigler understand whether the Archdiocese of Detroit failed in its duties.
The Allegations Against Father Jason E. Sigler
Where He Served
Father Jason E. Sigler was ordained in 1964 for the Archdiocese of Winnipeg, Canada. He was sent to the Diocese of Lansing in 1968, dismissed in 1970 after misconduct involving boys, and later accepted temporarily by the Archdiocese of Detroit on the condition he receive psychiatric help. He cycled through treatment with the Servants of the Paraclete in New Mexico and assignments in New Mexico parishes, returned to Lansing ministry in September 1974, served in a Detroit parish in 1975–1976, and left active ministry in January 1982. He was laicized in February 1999.
Convictions and Lawsuits
Sigler pleaded guilty in 1983 to the sexual abuse of a child and received probation and counseling. In 1993, 17 men in New Mexico settled claims against him for $13 million. After new allegations surfaced in Michigan in 2002, he was arrested and convicted twice in Michigan in 2003 and sentenced to 7 to 15 years in prison. He was released from jail in May 2012 and from probation in November 2013, and he appears on the New Mexico sex offender registry. Published records indicate that as of 2017 he had been accused of sexually abusing 57 children and named in lawsuits by 45. He appears on the Detroit archdiocese’s list (June 10, 2019), the Lansing diocese’s list (September 27, 2019), and in the Michigan Attorney General’s December 16, 2024 report on the Diocese of Lansing.
What Survivors Reported
Among the reported abuse: after being dismissed from Lansing in 1970, law enforcement agreed not to prosecute if he left the area permanently. One survivor abused at St. Robert’s Catholic School in Flushing, Michigan, reported contracting venereal warts from Sigler, requiring numerous surgeries, and said that when he reported the abuse to the school principal, he was paddled instead of helped.
Criminal vs. Civil Sexual Abuse Cases
Abuse by a member of the clergy can trigger two separate legal processes, a criminal case and a civil lawsuit, and both may matter to survivors of Father Sigler. One process punishes the wrongdoer, the other compensates the person who was harmed, and a survivor of Father Sigler can pursue the civil path regardless of what prosecutors decide.
The Criminal Process
Because the burden of proof is ‘beyond a reasonable doubt,’ criminal cases are difficult, and in matters involving Father Sigler, as in all such cases, they are controlled by prosecutors, not the survivor.
Civil Lawsuits
Civil cases put the survivor in charge: those harmed by Father Sigler decide whether to file, and a successful claim yields compensation rather than a prison sentence.
Statute of Limitations on Clergy Sexual Abuse Cases in Michigan
Under Michigan Compiled Laws §600.5805, civil claims for childhood sexual abuse are generally subject to a ten-year limitations period, running until the survivor turns 28, the rule that governs claims against Father Sigler.
First-degree criminal sexual conduct carries no limitations period in Michigan. And because many survivors of Father Sigler may need decades to confront what happened, a lawyer should review the deadlines rather than the survivor guessing.
View All Accused Clergy in Michigan
Pursue Justice With Help From White Law PLLC
Accountability does not stop with the individual cleric. If the Archdiocese of Detroit was aware, or should have been aware, of Father Sigler’s behavior and failed to prevent it, covered up complaints, or neglected proper screening and supervision, the institution itself can be sued.
A successful claim against Father Sigler can provide for medical and therapy expenses, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. Contact White Law PLLC at (517) 316-1195.
Profiles summarize published records and allegations. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding.