Defrocked Priest Committed Indefinitely to State Facility for Sex Offenders
By Megan Crepeau
Arguably Chicago’s most notorious figure in the national Roman Catholic priest sex abuse scandal was committed indefinitely Wednesday to a state facility for sex offenders. In refusing to release Daniel McCormack under strict monitoring, Cook County Judge Dennis Porter noted that the defrocked priest had never cooperated with treatment or even admitted to a problem. “I can’t disregard the fact that he has never been of the belief that he has a problem,” Porter said. “The first (step) of treatment here is recognizing there’s a problem that has to be treated.” McCormack, 49, sat impassively throughout the approximately 45-minute hearing and passed up an opportunity to speak on his own behalf, saying, “Not at this time, no” while giving a slight wave of his hand. McCormack had pleaded guilty in 2007 to sexually abusing five boys and was sentenced to five years in prison. Shortly before he was eligible for parole in 2009, the state filed to designate him a sexually violent person so he could be held indefinitely at the secure state facility in Rushville. He has been held there since then while awaiting to learn his fate. Last September, Porter found him sexually violent, agreeing with prosecutors who argued the disgraced ex-priest was substantially likely to re-offend. The judge decided Wednesday to keep him in that same facility. He will be re-evaluated annually to determine if he is eligible for release, but very few people at the Department of Human Services facility eventually win their freedom. Barbara Dorris, former executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, applauded Wednesday’s decision. “I think it is the start of recognizing the damage a child predator does and the fact that there is no, quote, cure for it,” she said, calling the McCormack case a “textbook” example of how the Catholic Church mishandled abuse allegations. Court records show that some 25 boys and young men have alleged McCormick molested them in their youth, most notably at St. Agatha Parish on Chicago’s West Side, where the then-young priest coached basketball, taught algebra and delivered eloquent sermons. The allegations stretch back decades but only became public in 2006, four years after then-Cardinal Francis George urged America's bishops to remove any priest from ministry for a single act of sexual abuse. But the cardinal, when notified that McCormack had been taken into custody by Chicago police in August 2005 for allegedly abusing a boy, did not remove him from ministry until a second arrest in January 2006. Later, outside auditors uncovered more than 30 missteps by the archdiocese in its handling of the McCormack case. Advocates say the West Side community felt particularly betrayed by McCormack’s actions, since the church was meant to be a safe haven in a neighborhood often plagued by violence and poverty. “He exploited that, their desire and their need to protect their children,” Dorris told the Tribune on Wednesday by phone. “These were parents that were trying so hard to do the right thing, and the very organization that was supposed to help them and guide them led them down a very evil path.” The Archdiocese of Chicago has paid out unspecified millions of dollars in settlements to McCormack victims. Eight lawsuits are still pending, said Anne Maselli, an archdiocese spokeswoman. A state Department of Human Services psychologist who testified for prosecutors last month said McCormack needs the intensive treatment only the department’s Rushville facility can provide. Amy Louck Davis said she had diagnosed him with pedophilic disorder and voyeuristic disorder. With McCormack refusing to cooperate, doctors drew conclusions by examining voluminous records by police, the archdiocese and other agencies. McCormack’s attorneys on Wednesday pointed out both his spotless disciplinary record during his time in custody and a psychologist who testified for the defense at trial who found that the former priest was not “substantially probable” to re-offend. A strict release with GPS monitoring and professional help would be sufficient for McCormack, along with the limitations imposed on any convicted sex offender, attorney Matthew Daniels said. “He’s not going to be able to coach because he’s not going to be allowed to be near any parks or schools,” Daniels said. “He’s not going to be allowed to teach because he’s not going to be allowed in a school.” Archbishop Cupich apologizes to West Side church for sex abuse » The facility where McCormack was committed currently holds about 570 residents, all of them men, Department of Human Services spokeswoman Meghan Powers confirmed Wednesday. About two-thirds of them have been officially committed there and the rest are awaiting court proceedings. Since 1998, just 21 people have been discharged from the facility, Powers said. Contact: mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
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