Fr. Andrew Showers, 37, is charged with attempted sexual assault of a child, attempted child enticement and attempted use of a computer for a sex crime.
Showers, who was assigned to Madison parish, was removed from active ministry by the Catholic Diocese of Madison.
Showers appeared by video for the court hearing Tuesday. He was wearing a dress shirt and suit coat, not a traditional clerical collar.
He waived his preliminary hearing. Then, his attorney, Christopher Wagner, said Showers would ‘stand mute’ for the arraignment. Judge Vicki Clussman then entered the not guilty on Showers’ behalf.
No trial date was set. Showers returns to court Dec. 3 for a status hearing.
Showers is free after posting a $10,000 cash bond.
According to the criminal complaint, Clintonville police created a fake online profile for a 14-year-old girl named Abby, seeking male companionship.
Showers responded, with details of the sex acts he would like to perform with the girl, and allegedly sent explicit photos to her.
Showers made arrangements for the two to meet at a Clintonville park, noting he had reserved a hotel room. When he got there, police arrested him.
"After being properly Mirandized Andrew drafted a letter addressed to 'Abby' wherein he apologized for his actions stating that he had put his 'own desires, wants, and brokenness before [her] wellbeing... and I am sorry that you were the recipient and victim of my poor decisions and selfish pursuits,'" the complaint states.
Since becoming a priest in 2017, Showers served at two churches in Northeast Wisconsin. He was at All Saints in Berlin and Our Lady of the Lake in Green Lake in 2022 and 2023.
Showers also served at parishes in Madison, Waunakee, Clinton and Wisconsin Dells.