Alleged McCormack Child Sex Abuse Victim Settles With Archdiocese of Chicago for $1.25M

Caption: Former priest Daniel McCormack | Illinois Department of Corrections

A man in his late 20s, who alleges he was abused at the hands of a notorious former priest at his childhood parish, has settled his claim with the Archdiocese of Chicago for $1.25 million a week before his case was to go to trial.

The plaintiff’s attorney, Eugene Hollander, was scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Monday morning where he was seeking to bring defrocked priest Daniel McCormack in to testify before the jury. The Chicago attorney had also filed a motion seeking punitive damages from the Archdiocese of Chicago.

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McCormack pleaded guilty to five counts of aggravated sexual abuse against a child in 2007, stemming from his parish assignment at St. Agatha’s Parish on Chicago’s West Side.

The trial involving was to have started next week, but the Archdiocese and plaintiff, known only as “John Doe,” reached a settlement agreement on Sunday evening.

“We expected other than McCormack answering what his name was that he was going to invoke the Fifth Amendment to all my questions,” Hollander told Patch.

The plaintiff, known only “John Doe,” claimed that he was abused by the priest at St. Ailbe’s Catholic Church, McCormack’s first parish assignment. Hollander said that every aspect of his client’s life has been affected, who recalled suppressed memories of the alleged childhood abuse during the Jerry Sandusky scandal in 2011.

Hollander said that his client is still in therapy to cope with the issues regarding the abuse, which occurred when he attended St. Ailbe’s parish school, 9307 S. Harper, Chicago, as a youngster.

“He constantly relives what happened to him,” the Chicago attorney said in a written statement. “My client’s childhood was taken away.”

The disgraced former priest has been in custody for the past several years in a state-run mental health facility in downstate Rushville, IL. Other allegations against McCormack have also recently resurfaced.

Hollander said this particular case involving McCormack is unique because it evolves from the defrocked priest’s first parish assignment at St. Ailbe’s, where he served from 1994 to 1995. The settled civil suit maintains that the Archdiocese was aware of McCormack’s potential propensity for child sex abuse and did not take proactive steps to keep McCormack away from children.

“My client was one of the earliest victims in [McCormack’s] chain,” Hollander said. “There are very few St. Ailbe’s victims.”

The Chicago attorney added that while it has been a difficult journey “my client has refused to suffer in silence.” Hollander said that John Doe is hopeful that with the proceeds of the settlement he can begin to put his life back together.

Hollander has another pending sex abuse case against the Archdiocese of Chicago involving McCormack and another former St. Ailbe’s parishioner. The attorney said he would again seek to put McCormack on the witness stand when that case comes to trial.

The state has begun involuntary commitment proceedings against McCormack with a hearing scheduled for May 26. Hollander said that he and other attorneys have attempted to depose McCormack but the former priest’s attorney has successfully blocked those efforts.

Hollander said that his client intends to use proceedings from the settlement to continue putting his back together.

The Archdiocese of Chicago issued a statement acknowledging Monday’s statement:

“In the more than two decades of its operation, the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth has touched more than 600,000 individuals with its screening, education and prevention programs. Importantly, more than 200,000 children have been trained to recognize and resist sexual predators and other potential abusers,” the statement said.

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