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  Bernardin Puts up Bail for Priest in Sex Case

By Leon Pitt
Chicago Sun-Times
June 10, 1992

A former parish priest posted bond Tuesday after being arrested on Wisconsin sex abuse charges involving two former altar boys.

The Rev. Norbert J. Maday posted a $ 5,000 cash bond after the archdiocese put up the money from Joseph Cardinal Bernardin's "discretionary charity fund," spokeswoman Sister Joy Clough said.

"When he (Bernardin) heard that . . . Father Maday did not have the resources to come up with the funds immediately, he felt he had the responsibility to assist," she said.

Clough said the archdiocese has not had to provide bond money for other priests hit with similar charges because they were released on their own recognizance. She said the money will be returned to the discretionary fund when legal proceedings are over.

Maday retained his right to an extradition hearing. Acting Violence Court Judge Daniel M. Locallo scheduled a status hearing for July 9.

The arrest comes three weeks after Cook County State's Attorney Jack O'Malley said evidence was insufficient to indict the Roman Catholic cleric. Locallo said the investigation here had no bearing on the Wisconsin charges.

Maday turned himself in Tuesday and was led away in handcuffs for processing. He returned later without restraints for the Criminal Court bond hearing.

The warrant came from an indictment issued in Winnebago County, Wis. The district attorney in Oshkosh has charged him with five counts: two of sexual assault, two of enticing a minor for immoral purposes and one of intimidating a victim.

Maday is accused of taking several boys from Our Lady of the Ridge Parish in Chicago Ridge on a five-day outing to a Winnebago County resort in 1986. There, he allegedly fondled one youth during a wrestling match and another after emerging from a shower.

Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Louis Derose, representing Winnebago County, said Maday threatened one youth by saying he would kill his little brother if anyone learned of the episode. He asked that Maday be held without bail.

Maday's attorney, Stephen Komie, appealed for a personal recognizance bond, which requires no cash. He said Maday wasn't "hiding under a rock and wasn't running like a dog" and noted O'Malley's decision not to prosecute.

Later, a spokeswoman for O'Malley said the state's attorney again cited "lack of evidence" for not filing charges here. She added, "Any prosecution would be banned by the statue of limitations."

In Illinois, charges must be brought within three years of the offense or, in the cases of minors, by their 19th birthday.

After the hearing, Maday read a statement that said the accusations were raised by a "disturbed young person. These accusations are six years old and the product of a troubled young man who is perhaps unable to deal with realities of modern life."

Maday was associate pastor at Our Lady of the Ridge at the time of the alleged incident. He was removed last March as associate pastor of St. Jude the Apostle Parish in South Holland when the allegations about the Wisconsin trip arose.

An archdiocesan spokeswoman said Maday remains on leave until the Wisconsin case is resolved and is living in a supervised facility.

 
 

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