CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune
By Manya A. Brachear
Tribune staff reporter
Published September 14, 2005
Victims advocates called Tuesday for the removal of an Episcopal priest who has been sanctioned after an investigation of an alleged attempted sexual assault from more than 10 years ago.
Rev. Errol Narain, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church on Chicago's South Side, has been placed under additional supervision and restrictions after a woman made what church officials believe to be credible allegations that he forced himself on her inside his family's home in 1994, Bishop William Persell said Tuesday. Neither the diocese nor the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests would identify her.
Narain and his lawyer, Truman Gibson, deny the allegations. They also dispute that Narain's ministry has been restricted.
"I have no response because the issue is very hearsay," said Narain, 56, an immigrant from South Africa. "There is no issue at all. ... They have done their investigations. It is `I said, she said.'"
No criminal charges or civil lawsuits have been filed. And according to a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney, no complaints about Narain have ever been reported to authorities.