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	Nightmare Ends for Priest, Principal Slasher Films Key to Defeating $7 Million Sex-Abuse Suit By Michael Hirsley Chicago Tribune July 4, 1994 Early in the sexual-abuse trial of Rev. Robert Lutz and former Principal Alice Halpin, the priest's lawyer began framing the successful defense with a jarring question for the 13-year-old accuser. "Were you afraid that Father Lutz was going to kill your parents or that Freddy Krueger was going to kill your parents?" attorney Arlene Erlebacher asked. "Father Lutz, I believe," the teenager replied from the witness stand. Erlebacher had him repeat his response for the jury of seven women and five men. Then she emphasized the word "believe." That exchange sounded the tone and unleashed a key defense strategy against a controversial $7 million lawsuit. It was a case that the Chicago archdiocese would stake its reputation on but ultimately rested on the shoulders of a man seeking to clear his name before retiring from the priesthood. After closing arguments, jurors deliberated less than two hours Wednesday before exonerating Lutz and Halpin. They had been accused of sexually abusing the youth during the 1987-88 school year, when he was a 7-year-old 2nd grader at St. Norbert School in Northbrook. Defense attorneys sought to show that the youth's graphic accusations of being sexually abused by the priest, being punched and kicked and having his parents' lives threatened by the priest, and being forced to watch the pastor and principal roll around naked in front of him were fantasies he had incorporated into his life from movies. Late in the three-week trial, that strategy would focus on "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movies and their central character, Freddy Krueger. Testifying for the defense, research psychologist Elizabeth Loftus showed the jurors clips from the "Nightmare" films containing violence, obscene language, abuse of authority, religious symbolism and sexual acts. Then she noted similarities between those scenes and the youth's accusations against Lutz and Halpin. The defense team also emphasized to the jury that the accuser had been allowed to see the violence-laden movies at a highly impressionable age, in or before 2nd grade. "I felt he was definitely too young to be seeing those movies, and the defense sold the idea that it was feasible he picked up thoughts from the movies," said juror Rodney Zech. "All of us thought the plaintiff's evidence was weak. There was no one to corroborate the allegations." He cited the testimony of a second youth who denied the accuser's story that the two children together had been punched by the priest. The jurors' first votes were unanimous in favor of the defendants, Zech said. The St. Norbert's case was critical to the archdiocese, which put its considerable financial resources behind Lutz and Halpin. It paid their legal fees and provided legal supervision and support to their lawyers. Those decisions aroused criticism. In the five years between when the suit was filed and when it came to trial, the suit generated considerable pretrial publicity, particularly on television. It hung as an ominous cloud in a climate wherein religious denominations across the country, particularly the Catholic Church, have been awash in clerical sexual-abuse allegations. Many have resulted in criminal convictions, out-of-court settlements and removals of clergy. The archdiocese has removed 20 priests in the last two years, stating concern that they might pose a threat to children. But in the Northbrook case, the archdiocese-which even saw Cardinal Joseph Bernardin face sexual-abuse charges for three months before they were recanted-dug in for a fight. The archdiocese chose to leave Lutz at his post, and he and Halpin countersued the parents for slander, claiming they were waging a media campaign with their allegations. That led some to charge that the archdiocese was using Rambo-like tactics. That countersuit is set to proceed. The accuser's parents have not decided whether to appeal the jury's verdict, according to their attorney, Thomas Decker. But Lutz faces a second suit, filed in 1992 by parents who allege that he sexually abused their son when the child was a 1st grader at St. Norbert's. The case resolved last week in Cook County Circuit Court was filed after the Northbrook police and the Cook County state's attorney's office investigated the parents' allegations and found no evidence to substantiate criminal charges. A day after the jury verdict, Lutz relaxed by playing golf with friends. "I shot about 100, 105," he said. "I feel good, it was my first time out this year." His most difficult time since the filing of the suits against him, he said, "was when I was asked to leave my parish for six weeks while the archdiocese did an internal investigation." After that temporary removal, the archdiocese was satisfied that he could return, although "I was told not to be alone with children," he said. "That has never been lifted, to my knowledge." It is his personal policy not be be alone in his office with children, Lutz said. He insists that he was never in his school office with either of the youths who have accused him of sexual abuse. "When I first heard the charges, I was astonished. I couldn't believe my ears," he said. He expressed gratitude for parishioners' support throughout the case, including those who attended the trial and some 100 who welcomed him with yellow ribbons around trees at the rectory after the verdict. But Lutz, 69, who will retire Oct. 1, said, "The stigma will never be entirely removed. Some will still think it happened. Some will always have doubts." James Serritella, the archdiocese's chief outside counsel, and John O'Malley, the chief in-house counsel, felt the trial and decision vindicated the archdiocese, which had been criticized for not avoiding a courtroom spectacle in this case. Both attorneys said settling the case out of court never appeared possible because it would have made the defendants look guilty. O'Malley said the defense did not hesitate to show jurors the "Nightmare" clips, although they included gore, violence and a sex scene with a bare-breasted woman. "Was this rough? Sure. But to understand the case and the impact this type of thing might have on a child, it had to be shown to the jury," he said. In the process of pretrial discovery, subsequently disclosed in open court, the defense found that the accuser's childhood drawings and writing showed fascination with and fear of Freddy Krueger. That led the defense team to the "Nightmare" movies. Erlebacher took the initial assignment of viewing them: "I sent a paralegal to get the videos, and I watched them at home." She said she had two reactions. She found them shocking, and "I thought, 'These things he (the accusing youth) is saying happened at school are all happening in these movies."
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