CHICAGO (IL)
WMAQ - NBC 5 [Chicago IL]
September 12, 2026
“Nobody’s paying that kind of money for something that didn’t happen,” said Marc Pearlman, one of the lawyers in the case.
The Archdiocese of Chicago recently settled out of court with nine people who accused eight Chicago-area priests of sexually abusing them decades ago.
The settlements, totaling $5.4 million, were all reached in the last two weeks, according to the attorneys representing the victims.
“Nobody’s paying that kind of money for something that didn’t happen,” said Marc Pearlman, one of the victim’s attorneys, during a Thursday news conference announcing the settlements. “This is validation that it happened.”
The allegations date as far back as the early 1970s and as recently as the late 1990s. The victims’ ages at the time of the abuse ranged from 6 to 14 years old.
The list of accused priests, most of whom have died, and their Chicago-area parishes are:
- Michael Cepon, St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Chicago
- Russell Romano, Quigley Preparatory Seminary South High School, Chicago
- Clement Carroll, Our Lady of Peace School, Chicago
- William Devereux, St. Martha of Bethany Church, Morton Grove
- James Sayers, St. Joseph Parish/St. John Neumann Parish, Homewood
- Norbert Mayday, Our Lady of the Ridge, Chicago Ridge
- David Braun, St. Francis Xavier Campus of Saints JFX School, Wilmette
- William O’Connor, St. Paul Catholic Church, Chicago Heights
Four of the eight priests — Cepon, Carroll, Sayers and O’Connor — are not listed on the archdiocese’s list of credibly accused clergy members. Two of the settlements involved allegations against Mayday.