Attorney Calls For Judges To Resign Amid Pasulka Rape Allegations

GLENVIEW, IL — A Lemont attorney is blaming the Cook County Child Representative Committee for the power he says embattled lawyer David Pasulka wielded over the women and children he represented. A resident of Glenview, Pasulka was recently accused of offering to help a client fighting for custody of her children if she had sex with him, and sexually abusing three former employees, according to a complaint filed by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.

Lawrence Thompson, who took Pasulka to court 15 years ago over similar allegations, is now calling for the resignation of three Cook County judges for allowing the alleged abuse to take place. They include Chief Judge Timothy Evans, Judge Grace Dickler, the presiding judge for domestic relations for the Circuit Court of Cook County, and Judge Moshe Jacobius, who formerly held Dickler's position.

"The public needs those with administrative power to recognize the harm they are causing, before that harm is inflicted upon women, children, and parents," Thompson wrote in a letter sent to the three judges earlier this week. "There was once a time when a leader would take responsibility for the actions of their agents, even when the leader thought they were not personally responsible for the harm caused by the agent."

Pasulka, in his role as the court-appointed head of the Child Representative Committee, was "able to decide which other attorneys would be eligible for lucrative appointments," according to Thompson. He states that when Pasulka represented a parent in a divorce, every attorney representing an opposing parent knew that Pasulka could exclude them from ever getting an appointment as a Child Representative.

"Similarly, an appointed Child Representative in a case where Pasulka represented a parent, knew that if he or she displeased Pasulka, or had the temerity to recommend custody for the other parent, Pasulka could blackball them from receiving future lucrative appointments as a Child Representative," Thompson writes. "In other words, the administration appointed Pasulka, so Pasulka had control of the other attorney’s finances."

Thompson points out that the first allegations noted in the complaint against Pasulka began in March 2012, but he was able to continue in his role as head of the Child Representative Committee relatively unchecked for eight years.

Pasulka, 60, has been licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1984. He established Pasulka & Associates, PC, in 1994. The Chicago-based firm specializes in divorce and family law.

Glenview Lawyer Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Client, Employees

Among the accusations leveled against Pasulka in the July complaint is that he made sexual advances toward a client he was representing in a 2017 child custody case. Pasulka had been appointed guardian ad litem for the woman's two children after she and her husband entered divorce proceedings the prior year.

Pasulka is also accused of sexually abusing three female employees between 2012 and 2018. During multiple incidents reported to have occurred in his Chicago office, and at least one at a hotel during a work-related trip, the complaint details accusations of unwanted kissing, inappropriate touching and rape.

"If the allegations in the Complaint are accurate, the administration selected a bully-pervert, and put him in charge of regulating which of his associates his would be the high-income in-crowd in the Cook County domestic relations courts," Thompson said. "If this lynchpin of the domestic relations courts is so corrupted, it will cause others to wonder what else is going on in these courts.

"This undermines the integrity of the courts," he added.

Last week, Pasulka told WBBM (a Patch news partner), he denies all the allegations against him. Pasulka said he is a leader in his field, has represented thousands of children, and feels he is being "dragged through the mud," adding that "this is the worst thing that's ever been laid on me."