Illinois Attorney General Report Shines Additional Light on Clergy Sexual Abuse in Illinois
(Chicago, IL) – Earlier this week, the office of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul released an investigative report which revealed that at least 1,997 survivors were sexually abused by 451 Catholic priests in the 6 Catholic dioceses in Illinois. This report appends former Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s 2018 findings that Catholic dioceses in Illinois received allegations of more than 500 priests that had not been previously shared with the public.
“We applaud Attorney General Raoul’s decision to further expose the perils that once were and may remain in the dioceses in Illinois,” said Jeff Anderson. “As revealing and vital as these reports are, Catholic leadership in Illinois possess documents identifying perpetrators, when and where the abuse occurred, and who is responsible for covering the abuse up. We call on all dioceses in Illinois to release this information to the public immediately.”
The Archdiocese of Chicago’s list of Clergy with Substantiated Allegations of Sexual Abuse of a Minor fails to provide where each of these accused offenders lives and works today. Many are alive and believed to be living in Illinois, possibly with access to children. The Archdiocese found that each of the priests listed below sexually abused a minor, but the Archdiocese does not inform the community where they are. Jeff Anderson & Associates found the last known addresses of these offenders but believes the Archdiocese has more current information:
Priest’s Identity
Fr. Richard Barry Bartz
Fr. Arthur Bendixen
Fr. Leonard Adolph Bogdan
Fr. Daniel Peter Buck
Fr. John Walter Calicott
Fr. Walter George DeRoeck
Fr. James Vincent Flosi
Fr. Robert D. Friese
Fr. James Craig Hagan
Fr. Leonard Huske
Fr. John James Keehan
Fr. Daniel J. McCormack
Fr. Richard J. Poster
Fr. Thomas J. Swade
Fr. Walter Joseph Turlo
County Allegedly Residing
Cook, IL
Cook, IL
Maricopa, AZ
Cook, IL
Cook, IL
Santa Clara, CA
Cook, IL
DuPage, IL
Cook, IL
Cook, IL
DuPage, IL
Cook, IL
Montgomery County, MD
Lake County, IL
Cook, IL
“The fact that the Archdiocese of Chicago has not informed the public that these perpetrators may be living in these communities proves that the Archdiocese only acts in self-preservation,” said Jeff Anderson. “It is time for reckoning in the dioceses of Illinois. Priests who sexually abuse children must be exposed and treated no differently from registered sex offenders. No person who abuses a child should receive any leniency for their heinous crimes.”
In addition to Jeff Anderson & Associate’s independent research, the identities of Catholic clerics and religious brothers who are still alive with substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse who are included in the 2023 Office of the Illinois Attorney General Report on Catholic Clergy Child Sex Abuse are included below:
Joseph R. Bennett
Charles Conefrey
Philip J. Coury
James Diete
Federico Fernandez Baeza
Ed Hennessey
Joseph Jablonski
Bernard P. Knoth
Ronald Luka
Peter John McNamara
John Baptist (J.B.) Ormechea
Carlos Peralta
John F. Rohrich
Kenneth Stewart
John Benedict Weber
Robert L. Boley
Joseph A. Colletti
Robert Craig
Michael E. Dorrler
John J. Fitzgerald
Steven Henrich
Robert J. Joda
Richard James Kurtz
Gregory Madigan
Michael Montgomery
Joseph Owens
Sleeva Raju Policetti
Gerald Smola
Michael Trujillo
Bruce Wellems
Robert Noel Brouillette
Augustine “Gus” Cops
Vincent Dan Minh Cao
Daniel Michael Drinan
Joseph L. Fitzharris
James Hoder
Thomas J. Johnston
Richard L. Lause
Kevin (Dennis Kevin) McBrien
Robert (Hugh) Murphy
Frank Paduch
Richard J. Poster
William J. Spine
Roger W. Vaughn
William Wert
Vincent Bryce
Edmund Corrigan
Crescente (Sonny) Derivera
Dennis Drugan
Jesus P. Garza
Michael J. Hogan
Robert Louis Kealy
James Lewnard
Vincent McCaffrey
Felipe Navarrette Diaz
Eusebio (Chevy) Pantoja Segura
M. Lawrence Reuter
James R. Steel
Clovis Javier Vilchez-Parra
Michael Howard Weston
John Walter Calicott
Edward Courtney
Dominic Aloysius Diederich
Laurence Eagle
Dennis Huff
John Joseph Keough
Lawrence Lovell
Robert Joseph McDonald
William John O’Brien
P.B. Patitucci
Paul S. Reycraft
James Stein
Freddy Washington
Michael Winkels
Disclaimer: All alleged perpetrators identified in this press briefing have been publicly identified in a list released by an archdioceses or dioceses or the 2023 Office of the Illinois Attorney General Report on Catholic Clergy Child Sex Abuse accusing them of child sexual abuse. The claims against these individuals may not have been thoroughly evaluated in a civil or criminal court. The allegations should not be considered proven or substantiated in a court of law. All individuals should be considered innocent until proven guilty.