Priest and Clergy Child Sexual Abuse in Illinois
The Catholic community of Illinois is divided into six Dioceses – the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Dioceses of Belleville, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford and Springfield.
According to the Illinois Attorney General, the number of Catholic clergy against whom allegations of child sexual abuse were substantiated/deemed credible is almost 500:
- Archdiocese of Chicago
- Diocese of Belleville
- Diocese of Joliet
- Diocese of Peoria
- Diocese of Rockford
- Diocese of Springfield
The AG clarified that the actual number of credibly-accused abusers is 451 as some abusers committed their crimes in multiple Dioceses and were included more than once in the initial count.
Illinois Attorney General Issues Comprehensive “Report on Catholic Clergy Child Sex Abuse in Illinois”
Upon his 2018 election to the office of Illinois Attorney General, Kwame Raoul continued and expanded the investigation into Catholic clergy child sexual abuse in Illinois launched by his predecessor AG Madigan. In December 2018, AG Madigan issued a preliminary report that described the undertaking of the AG’s investigation and what was known at that time. (See below for a description of AG Madigan’s preliminary report).
In 2023, AG Raoul issued the “Report on Catholic Clergy Child Sex Abuse in Illinois” which detailed the results of the AG’s investigation that began in 2018 and concluded in 2023 – spanning almost 5 years. The 2023 Report, almost 700 pages, sets forth the shocking prevalence of child sex abuse by Catholic clergy in Illinois and the steps that were taken by the Archdiocese and Dioceses to cover-up the abuse and protect the abusers. The 2018 preliminary report signaled that the extent of Catholic clergy child sex abuse had been grossly understated (see below). The 2023 Report “…revealed claims by at least 1,997 survivors who were sexually abused by the 451 Catholic clerics and religious brothers who are now publicly disclosed in Illinois as substantiated child sex abusers…”
Clergy Members Credibly Accused of Abusing Children in Illinois
The following list includes current or former priests who have been sued and/or suspended following allegations of sexual abuse of minors or have claims against them in the state of Illinois. We are actively pursuing cases against Catholic priests and clergy as well as figures from 5 different Illinois dioceses.
Important note: If the name of a priest or other member of clergy you are searching for does not appear in the lists below, it does not mean that you do not have a potential claim against that individual. These lists of credibly accused individuals are always expanding as more information is brought forth to the dioceses and to authorities. Please contact us if you or a loved one has been abused by a priest or other clergy member, regardless of whether they appear in the lists below or not.
Archdiocese of Chicago
The following list contains Priests and Clergy from the Archiocese of Chicago, Illinois have been the objects of legal settlements or otherwise credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor:
- Lawrence A. Angel
- Alexander Sylvester Baranowski
- Richard Barry Bartz
- Robert Charles Becker
- Robert E. Beckstrom
- Joseph R. Bennett
- Leonard Adolph Bogdan
- Dennis Bonebreak
- Robert Peter Bowman
- Kenneth M. Brigham
- Robert Brouillette
- Daniel Peter Buck
- Eugene Patrick Burns
- John Walter Calicott
- Octavio Munoz Capetillo
- Michael T. Carr
- Francis C. Carroll
- Thomas M. Chmura
- William J. Cloutier
- Alan S. Cobb
- Daniel J. Collins
- Donald Cecil Collins
- Eugene Laurence Condon
- Edmund Corrigan
- Robert Craig
- John William Curran
- Norman J. Czajka
- Walter George DeRoeck
- Jeremiah C. Duggan
- James Claver Dunn
- William Patrick Farrell
- Salvatore A. Ferro
- Joseph L. Fitzharris
- Terence Fitzmaurice
- James Vincent Flosi
- Robert D. Friese
- Rigoberto Gamez-Alfonso
- Stephen Justin Gardner
- Jesus P. Garza
- James Craig Hagan
- James V Hanney
- John Edward Hefferan
- Gilbert Leroy Hensley
- Juan Francisco Hinojosa
- James Allen Hoder
- Michael J. Hogan
- Michael P. Hogan
- Daniel Mark Holihan
- James Alvarez Houlihan
- Walter Edward Huppenbauer
- Leonard Huske
- Charles B. Irwin
- Thomas Job
- Robert Louis Kealy
- John James Keehan
- Thomas Francis Kelly
- Benen Kent
- Joseph C Kernan
- Joseph Patrick Kissane
- George W. Klein
- Leonard Paul Kmak
- Ronald Justin Lasik
- Patrick J. Lee
- William L. Lupo
- Norbert J. Maday
- Edward J. Maloney
- Robert E. Mayer
- Vincent McCaffrey
- Christopher J. McCartney
- Daniel J. McCormack
- Robert Joseph McDonald
- Donald J. McGuire
- Peter John McNamara
- Gary M. Miller
- Donald John Mulsoff
- Clement Adan Murphy
- John Daniel Murphy
- John E Murphy
- Thomas Ignatius Murphy
- William John O'Brien
- Michael W. O'Connell
- Jack O'Dell
- Thomas O'Gorman
- Patrick O'Leary
- John Baptist "J.B." Ormechea
- Donald J. O'Shaughnessy
- Paul L. O'Toole
- Joseph Owens
- Frank Paduch
- Eusebio Pantoja
- Thomas Paramo
- Carlos Peralta
- Kevin Phan
- Sleeva Raju Policetti
- John J. Powell
- Konstanty Przybylski
- James M. Ray
- Lawrence Reuter
- Paul Reycraft
- John Allen Robinson
- John F. Rohrich
- Russell Lawrence Romano
- Kenneth Charles Ruge
- Daniel Ryan
- Daniel R. Schulte
- Raymond Francis Skriba
- John P. Smyth
- Marion Joseph Snieg
- Ruben Soto
- William J. Spine
- James R. Steel
- Robert A. Stepek
- Victor E. Stewart
- Ralph S. Strand
- Howard Strum
- Walter Strus
- Thomas J. Swade
- Albert Tanghal Rimando
- Mark E. Thedens
- Michael Trujillo
- Walter Joseph Turlo
- Donald Francis Ulatowski
- Clovis Vilchez Parra
- Phillip Vorlick
- Karl J. Walczak
- Michael Howard Weston
- Wayne E. Wigglesworth
- Joseph Wilk
- Louis Wojtowicz
- Michael T. Yakaitis
Diocese of Belleville
The following list contains Priests and Clergy from the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois have been the objects of legal settlements or otherwise credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor:
- James R. Calhoun
- Robert Chlopecki
- David G. Crook
- Daniel L. Friedman
- Gerald Hechenberger
- Edwin Kastner
- Raymond F. Kownacki
- Albert "Gene" E. Kreher
- Eugene G. Linnemann
- Walter E. MacPherson
- Louis P. Peterson
- Jerome B. Ratermann
- William F. Rensing
- E. Alan Ruppert
- Roger Schoenhofen
- Joseph R. Schwaegel
- Gary Sebescak
- Francis Theis
- Robert J. Vonnahmen
Diocese of Joliet
The following list contains Priests and Clergy from the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois have been the objects of legal settlements or otherwise credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor:
- John F. Barrett
- Richard L. Bennett
- Andrew L. Buczyna
- James Burnett
- Thomas A. Corbino
- Phillip J. Dedera
- Arno Dennerlein
- William Dugal, III
- Alejandro (Alex) Flores
- James Frederick
- Michael L. Gibbney
- Lawrence (Larry) M. Gibbs
- Carroll Howlin
- Richard E. Jacklin
- Frederick A. Lenczycki
- John D. Malzone
- Kevin Michael McBrien
- Richard J. McGrath
- J. Anthony Meis
- Lawrence (Larry) Mullins
- James A. Nowak
- Donald O'Connor
- Donald P. Pock
- Edward Poff
- Anthony J. Ross
- Richard Ruffalo
- F. Lee Ryan
- Jeffrey Salwach
- Gerald Simonelli
- Henry Slade
- John Slown
- David Stalzer
- Edward Stefanich
- William D. Virtue
- Oliver T. Walsh
- Myles Patrick White
Diocese of Peoria
The following list contains Priests and Clergy from the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois have been the objects of legal settlements or otherwise credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor:
- John C. Anderson
- Charles Beebe
- Edward E. Bush
- Terry Cassidy
- Francis (Frank) Engels
- Norman D. Goodman
- William Harbert
- George H. Hiland
- M. Duane Leclercq
- Thomas W. Maloney
- Thomas R. Miller
- John M. Onderko
- Toussaint J. Perron
- Jerome Pilon
- Gregory J. Plunkett
- Samuel D. Pusateri
- Richard Slavish
- John B. Turnbull (OFM)
- Michael R. Van
Diocese of Rockford
The following list contains Priests and Clergy from the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois have been the objects of legal settlements or otherwise credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor:
- Mark A. Campobello
- Harlan B. Clapsaddle
- Thomas Considine
- Theodore Feely
- James Gaynor
- Al F. Harte
- John C. Holdren
- William I. Joffe
- Peter D. Kohler
Diocese of Springfield
The following list contains Priests and Clergy from the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois have been the objects of legal settlements or otherwise credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor:
- Joseph D. Cernich
- Eugene E. Costa
- Garrett Neal Dee
- Robert DeGrand
- Robert Dodd
- Kevin J. Downey
- Joseph Havey
- Daniel Ryan (Bp)
- Louis Schlangen
- Francis Tebangura
- Walter M. Weerts
- Frank D. Westhoff
- Stanislaus Yunker
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