Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says an investigation into possible sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests in Michigan may last two years, and she wants the state's seven dioceses to suspend their own internal review processes until the probe is complete.
She said Thursday there ultimately could be more than 1,000 victims, and there are hundreds of thousands of pages of documents to review. She says her office is initially prioritizing cases where it is possible priests could still be working with children, so there is no "continued victimization."
Another early priority is focusing on potential cases where the statute of limitations has not run.
Nessel's predecessor last year opened an investigation after a Pennsylvania grand jury report said more than 1,000 children had been molested there since the 1940s.
