Madison priest stands mute on sex crime charges

A Madison-area priest accused of child sex crimes stood mute at an initial appearance Tuesday, online court records show. Appearing via Zoom in a Waupaca County courtroom, Fr. Andrew Showers saw not guilty pleas entered on his behalf for felony charges of attempted use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, attempted child enticement and attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child under 16 years of age. The 37-year-old priest is accused of driving to Clintonville to meet up with a 14-year-old girl for sex, who was really an undercover police officer.