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	Jury to Decide If Defrocked Priest Stays Incarcerated Chicago Breaking News January 19, 2010 http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/01/daniel-mccormack-roman-catholic-priest-sex-abuse.html A jury will decide if former Roman Catholic priest and convicted sex offender Daniel McCormack will remain incarcerated under the Illinois Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act, a judge ruled today. Siding with prosecutors, Judge Dennis Porter said McCormack will remain in a secure treatment facility until a verdict is reached in a trial. McCormack fondled five boys between ages 8 and 12 in St. Agatha Catholic Church's rectory, misconduct that dated to 2001. Some victims were members of the basketball team he coached at nearby Our Lady of the West Side School. Other victims were friends of boys who attended the school, where McCormack also taught algebra. Two audits commissioned by the Chicago archdiocese later found a trail of abuse allegations dating to McCormack's seminary days in 1988, all of which the archdiocese had failed to investigate properly. They found that although a priest had been assigned to monitor McCormack at St. Agatha, he still had contact with children. McCormack pleaded guilty in July 2007 to five felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and was sentenced to five years in prison. Removed from the priesthood, he was scheduled to be released on parole last September. Lawyers for the Illinois Attorney General and the Cook County State's Attorney are seeking civil commitment based on a medical evaluation, the number of victims, McCormack's "offending pattern" and the fact that he molested a child after initial allegations surfaced. That last fact was what led Porter to determine probable cause on Tuesday. It was "an indication of a clear lack of control," Porter said. No date has been set for the trial, but another hearing in the case was scheduled for March 2.
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