This past week, Hurley McKenna and Mertz filed suit on behalf of a St. Charles man who courageously stepped forward to seek justice for the sexual abuse he endured as a child at the hands of a pedophile priest. In his complaint, he alleges that the priest used his position of power and moral authority to sexually abuse adolescent boys on religious retreats in Wisconsin. Specifically, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the priest provided boys with alcohol and pornography and encouraged them to play sexually explicit games, which often required them to remove their clothes. Yet most troubling, on one of these retreats, the priest raped the St. Charles man.
This particular priest is one of the most notorious abusers in the Chicagoland area, and has previously been named in three other lawsuits, each alleging that he sexually abused young boys. It is believed that this priest was a sexual predator who attacked many, many children.
The Diocese of Joliet took absolutely no action to remove the priest from his position. The St. Charles man is alleging that the Diocese of Joliet knew or should have known the sexually explicit nature of the activities happening on the retreats and knew or should have known that this priest was a sexual predator. The Diocese's inaction likely enabled the priest's abuse of these innocent boys who now must bear the pain of this abuse for the rest of their lives.
Chris Hurley and Mark McKenna, the attorneys representing the survivor of abuse, can be reached with questions regarding the case at (312) 553-4900. This story was reported in the Chicago Sun-Times.
