January 25, 2006
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times
BY CATHLEEN FALSANI AND STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporters
Chicago Police wanted to charge the Rev. Daniel McCormack with child sex abuse last August, but prosecutors refused because they thought the case was weak.
"On Aug. 30 we sought felony charges against him, but they were rejected due to the late outcry of the victim, no evidence, no admission of the priest -- he exercised his right to remain silent -- and no corroborating evidence," a police source told the Chicago Sun-Times Wednesday.
The investigation against McCormack, 37, the pastor of Chicago's St. Agatha, was further hampered by the fact that officials of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago advised the priest to remain silent, the police source said. "That is his right, but at the same time this is the archdiocese with its 'we're upfront about everything' bulls - - -."