Diocese Of Joliet Sued By Ousted Principal Mary Rehfield

JOLIET, IL - A high-powered law firm with offices in Evanston and suburban Detroit has filed a civil lawsuit at the Will County Courthouse against the Diocese of Joliet on behalf Mary Rehfield. She was recently ousted as principal of St. Raphael Catholic School in Naperville. The 66-year-old ex-principal is being represented by attorney Julie Porter of Salvatore Prescott & Porter, a law firm that specializes in discrimination and retaliation cases.

"In early 2017, the Diocese of Joliet abruptly terminated her, because she had reported threatening conduct from a parent to the police. After the police investigated the incident, and indeed, issued an arrest warrant for the individual who made the threats, the Diocese retaliated against Rehfield, making her a scapegoat for a situation they found embarrassing and problematic," the plaintiff's lawyers informed Will County's court. "Rehfield now brings this action for compensatory and punitive damages stemming from the unlawful termination."

On Monday evening, Joliet Patch reached out to the Joliet Diocese, 16555 Weber Road, Crest Hill for comment. Father John Belmonte is Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Joliet.

"The Diocese of Joliet has not been served with process in this matter, and therefore has no comment at this time. Mary Rehfield is under an employment contract with her parish and being compensated in accordance with the contract," Edward Flavin, director of communications for the Diocese, responded in an email.

According to her lawsuit, Rehfield has served more than 43 years "as a dedicated and compassionate educator." She lives in suburban Bartlett and has roughly 18 years experience as a principal in Illinois. She was hired in 2012 as principal of St. Raphael Catholic School, a preschool through eighth grade parochial school with 310 students and 25 teachers and staff.

"Before Rehfield was hired, St. Raphael had experienced difficulties with a small group of parents who viewed themselves as in charge, often interfering with the orderly administration of the school," her lawsuit states.

So how did Rehfield perform as St. Raphael's principal?

"Her work was so well received that she was nominated by St. Raphael's pastor, Father Daniel Bachner, for Outstanding Principal of the Year for the 2016-17 school year," her lawyers informed the court.

"Students affectionately referred to Rehfield as 'Mrs. St. Raphael," her lawyers wrote.

As of May, Principal Rehfield "was in strong standing at St. Raphael's, having received a glowing performance review and been offered and accepted a contract for the 2017-2018 school year," her lawsuit states.

Her downfall stems from the actions of an accused criminal, William MacKinnon, who lived in Massachusetts. In January 2016, MacKinnon convinced himself that his daughter, who attended St. Raphael's in Naperville, was being bullied. According to the lawsuit, MacKinnon's conduct intensified and became downright scary and threatening. Photos of MacKinnon were distributed around St. Raphael's, and people were told to call 911 if MacKinnon ever showed up on the church campus.

This past February, Father Bachner received a voicemail from MacKinnon, the suit states. "It was a several-minute-long rant about priests and the Church. To the extent it was threatening, the threat was to Father Bachner. When Rehfield learned about the voicemail, she promptly contacted police and requested that they review the matter. The police issued an arrest warrant for MacKinnon."

According to the ex-principal's suit, "the press was able to access information about MacKinnon's case on the public docket ... The Naperville Sun ran a story called 'Man vowed to 'terrorize' Naperville school: authorities.'"

However, the Naperville Sun newspaper got several facts wrong in the article, the lawsuit states.

"The article was wrong in several respects, including that the voicemail was to Father Bachner, not to Rehfield, and that, in the message, MacKinnon did not vow to terrorize St. Raphael. The message certainly concerned Rehfield, and she took it seriously, but it was not accurate to cast it as a threat to the school and its students and staff."

The original Naperville Sun story about MacKinnon's arrest was picked up by several Chicago-area news outlets including WGN, NBC-Chicago and the Naperville Patch.

William MacKinnon/DuPage County Sheriff's Office mugshot

After MacKinnon's felony arrest made headlines, St. Raphael's fielded numerous inquiries from alarmed parents. According to Rehfield's lawsuit, she subsequently met with Father Bachner and Father Belmonte. A letter was distributed to parents, followed by a meeting around May 10 that was attended by Rehfield, Father Bachner, Father Belmonte and assistant principal Jen Timmons. Diocese administrator Mike Bava and Diocese lawyer Maureen Harton participated in the meeting by phone, the lawsuit reflected.

"The meeting with the parents was volatile, explosive and aggressive toward Rehfield," her lawsuit states. "Some parents expressed anger that they were not informed earlier; some called for Rehfield's termination. It was not surprising that the meeting was emotional, especially given the misinformation that had been printed in the newspaper.

"What was surprising, however, was that Father Bachner and Father Belmonte sat by silently while parents excoriated Rehfield, even though both knew that the steps Rehfield had taken were fully vetted and supported by the Diocese," her lawyers' argue.

Based on that meeting, the Joliet Diocese retaliated against the Naperville principal, her lawsuit alleges.

"Just days after the meeting with the parents, the Diocese terminated Rehfield, despite the fact that Rehfield had already been offered and had accepted a contract to return for the following school year. This demand that she leave came as a total shock to Rehfield."

In fact, the plaintiff and Father Bachner had previously discussed "the expectation on all sides that Rehfield would remain Principal at St. Raphael until she turned 70 years old," her lawsuit states.

Since being terminated, Rehfield has not been able to find "alternative employment and given her age, she does not anticipate being able to find another job," her lawyers noted.

"It was clear to Rehfield and others that the Diocese forced her out in retaliation for reporting the MacKinnon incident to police, as a way of shifting blame off of the Diocese and onto Rehfield," her lawyers contend.

Main image, secondary lawsuit images, photo of Father John Belmonte via Joliet Patch, photo of Mary Rehfield provided by Salvatore Prescott & Porter.