Fr. George H. Hiland
Retired in 1994. Removed from public ministry in 11/2018 due to an allegation deemed credible of sexual misconduct with a minor about 50 years prior. Assignments 1958-1994 included St. Stephen’s in Steator, St. John the Baptist in Fairbury, St. Patrick in Dwight and St. James in Forrest. Included on the diocese’s list in 12/2018. Known in 2014 to be living in Sebastian, FL. Included in the 5/23/2023 IL Attorney General’s report, which shows that in 10/2018 the diocese found a 1993 memo that Hiland sexually abused a 7th-8th grade altar boy in the mid-1960s. The survivor told A.G. investigators that Hiland took interest in him after his [the boy’s] father died. The abuse happened often and in many places, and Hiland would reward the boy with gifts after each incident. Also, in 1993 Hiland was accused of abusing a child in the 1970s and admitted to abusing a second, leading to his 1994 retirement.
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