BishopAccountability.org
	New Inquiry Sought in Priest Abuse Case By Mark Brown Five Star July 2, 1992 Two Northbrook couples who allege that their sons were sexually abused by a Catholic priest said Wednesday that they are hopeful that Cook County State's Attorney Jack O'Malley will reinvestigate their charges. After a 90-minute private meeting with O'Malley, one mother said he had promised to consider having a "whole new group of people" investigate their accusations against the Rev. Robert Lutz, pastor at St. Norbert Church in Northbrook. "Our general feeling was he was very concerned," said the mother. The parents told O'Malley they think previous investigations, which resulted in no criminal charges, were mishandled. Afterward, a spokesman for O'Malley said the state's attorney "pledged his special interest in the case" and "will study the entire matter." The state's attorney's office has never publicly stated its reasons for declining to prosecute Lutz, as is its policy. The first case was initiated during the tenure of Richard M. Daley as state's attorney and the second case during O'Malley's. Lutz, who has been St. Norbert's pastor since 1984, has called the abuse allegations "completely and utterly false." Last month, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin's special commission on priest sex abuse of minors concluded that the allegations were unfounded after examining the archdiocese's files. Bernardin also has said that retired U.S. District Judge Nicholas Bua, retained by the church to review the case, came to the same conclusion. Both families have filed civil lawsuits against Lutz and the archdiocese. The parents of "Richard Doe" were the first to go public, alleging in a 1989 suit that Lutz abused their son while he was in second grade at St. Norbert's Grade School in 1987-88. Also named as a defendant is Alice Halpin, the school's principal. "Minor A's" parents filed suit this year, contending that their son was abused by Lutz on at least three occasions while in first grade in 1986. They also say Lutz threatened to kill the boy if he told anybody. Although the parents know each other, they say the boys do not. Both boys are now in different schools. Lawyers for Lutz have mounted an aggressive legal counterattack, accusing the families of libel, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Lutz's lawyers contend that Minor A made his allegations only after "repeated and suggestive questioning" by parents who knew their son "had a propensity to tell false stories and fabrications."
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