Pedophile Ex-Priest Is Freed, by Bill Bird, Naperville Sun, September 25, 2009

Pedophile Ex-Priest Is Freed

By Bill Bird
Naperville Sun
September 25, 2009

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1789696,Pedophile-ex-priest-freed_na092509.article

WHEATON — Fred Lenczycki, a former Roman Catholic priest who served at SS Peter and Paul Church in Naperville and sexually abused as many as 30 boys in three states, was freed Thursday from DuPage County Jail.

Lenczycki, 65, was the first priest in the nation to be deemed a "sexually violent" person. He left DuPage County Circuit Court accompanied by a conditional release supervisor, after a judge approved an outpatient treatment plan for him.

Fred Lenczycki

Natalie Bauer, a spokeswoman for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, confirmed Thursday night Lenczycki had been released from custody and had registered as a sex offender.

"As you know, today (Madigan) asked the court to stay Lenczycki's release pending a possible appeal," Bauer said. That request was denied, "but because of the attorney general's strong concerns about the community's safety and the need for the most serious sexually violent offenders to receive treatment for as long as possible, (Madigan) plans to move as quickly as possible to determine whether an appeal can be made," Bauer said.

Lenczycki will reportedly live with a relative in near west suburban Forest Park. Police there did not return a telephone message that sought comment on that report.

A native of Glen Ellyn, Lenczycki was imprisoned in 2004 after being convicted of fondling three young boys while a priest at St. Isaac Jogues Church in Hinsdale. The abuse occurred during the early and mid-1980s.

He was to have been freed after serving roughly half of his five-year prison term, but instead continued to be held by the Illinois Department of Corrections, after a DuPage County jury last year deemed him to be sexually violent, and thus eligible for indefinite incarceration.

Judge Bonnie M. Wheaton ruled in July that Lenczycki had made adequate progress in his treatment and could be freed from a center in downstate Rushville while continuing to undergo therapy.

Lenczycki has admitted to fondling at least 30 boys at churches in Naperville, Hinsdale and Romeoville, as well as in California and Missouri. Three of his victims were parishioners of SS Peter and Paul Church.