ILLINOIS
CBS Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) — A Cook County judge this fall will determine whether defrocked Chicago priest Daniel McCormack will remain in state custody indefinitely, even after serving prison time for molesting young boys at his West Side parish.
McCormack has been held at a state Department of Health institution in downstate Rushville, following his release from prison on a five-year sentence for fondling five boys. Cook County Judge Dennis Porter will rule on whether to commit McCormack to custody of the state Department of Human Services after a bench trial set to begin on Sept. 6.
Prosecutors and the state Attorney General’s Office moved to have McCormack ruled a “sexually violent person” in 2010, as his parole date was approaching. Proceedings dragged on as McCormack faced criminal charges as other boys came forward with allegations of abuse, but those cases had largely fallen apart as his accusers refused to testify.
Under the state’s Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act, a person can be committed if they have been convicted of a sexually violent offense and suffer from a mental disorder that makes them likely to commit future violent sexual acts. Once committed, offenders can’t be released from custody until another evaluation determines they are fit for less stringent confinement.
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