The WNEM story that sparked a scandal involving U.S. congressman Dale Kildee this week began its life a year ago.

Last year, WNEM anchor Katie O’Mara received a letter.  It was from the sister of Patrick Kildee, the man who would eventually come forward and accuse Dale Kildee, his half cousin, of molesting him as an adolescent.  The letter disclosed a pattern of abuse by the congressman and O’Mara started investigating.

“It’s challenging for a main anchor with significant anchor duties to also pursue investigative reports,” WNEM news director Ian B. Rubin told TVSpy recently, “but Katie did so with energy and passion from start to finish.” Read more

In a story that was six months in the making, WNEM aired an exclusive one-on-one interview this week with a man who accuses longtime U.S. congressman Dale Kildee of sexually molesting him 50 years ago.

The interview has grabbed national headlines as Kildee, who has served Michigan’s 5th congressional district since 1977, vehemently denies the allegations.

Patrick Kildee, the congressman’s second cousin, sat down with WNEM’s Katie O’Mara and graphically detailed a series of sexual encounters he says he had with Dale Kildee in 1964, when he was 15 and Dale was 35. Read more