Priest from Wisconsin taken into custody over suspected plans for a clandestine encounter with a teenager

In a shocking turn of events, Father Andrew Showers, director of the diocese's Office of Worship and parochial vicar for Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Madison, has been arrested on allegations of seeking to meet up for sex with someone believed to be an underage teen girl.

The investigation into the matter began on Aug. 10, when a Clintonville police sergeant, posing as a fictitious 14-year-old girl named "Abby," received a private response to his post in a sexually explicit Reddit forum from an account using the handle DFALK7. The conversation continued through Aug. 18, becoming increasingly explicit.

According to the criminal complaint, DFALK7, who claimed to be a 36-year-old male from Madison, allegedly inquired about the teen's "favorite sexual positions," "previous sexual experiences," proposed meeting on a Monday, and sent a partially nude photograph of himself, requesting a full body photograph of Abby in return. The exchange then moved to the Telegram messaging platform, where DFALK7 adopted the user name DSCHAUER001, and proposed an in-person meetup, either at Abby's house or a hotel, on Aug. 25 before his purported trip to California. DFALK7 also asked whether Abby would be menstruating at the time and solicited another photo of her.

On Aug. 24, Father Showers was taken into custody at approximately 7:32 p.m. by the Clintonville Police Department. Law enforcement apprehended him without incident after he drove into the site's parking lot at Pigeon Lake Wayside Park, where he had allegedly arranged to meet the underage individual.

Upon his arrest, Father Showers was detained in Waupaca County, Wisconsin. A criminal complaint obtained by our website shows that he was apprehended in his vehicle with hotel room keys, his wallet and identification, and a single pill later identified as Sildenafil (commonly known as Viagra).

Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison announced that Father Showers was taken into custody on allegations of child enticement, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, and attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child. The charges against Father Showers are felonies with maximum sentences ranging from 20 to 40 years and fines ranging from $50,000 to $100,000.

Bishop Hying stated that Father Showers has been completely restricted from all public ministry and barred from having contact with minors. A $10,000 bond was posted right away and Father Showers was free on bond until his initial court appearance on Sept. 30.

Father Showers was ordained in 2017 and has served at Our Lady of Guadalupe since 2023 and at the Office of Divine Worship since 2024. Prior to these assignments, he assisted with Mass in Spanish at St. John the Baptist in Waunakee in 2022, and from 2022 to 2023 was a priest in residence at All Saints in Berlin and Our Lady of the Lake in Green Lake. He also had a 2020-2022 pastorate at St. Stephen Parish in Clinton.

Father Showers was profiled in a December 2017 article for Madison Magazine, where he discussed his hobbies, faith, and vocation. He stated that he aimed to "get people to ... have a relationship with Christ."

The investigation into this matter is ongoing, and Father Showers is afforded a presumption of innocence in the pursuit of justice.

Priest from Wisconsin taken into custody over suspected plans for a clandestine encounter with a teenager