Two New Lawsuits Filed against Convicted Former Priest Daniel Mccormack

CBS Chicago
July 7, 2015

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/07/07/two-new-lawsuits-filed-against-convicted-former-priest-daniel-mccormack/

Daniel McCormack (Chicago Police Department)

Two new lawsuits were filed Tuesday alleging sexual abuse by convicted child molester and former priest Daniel McCormack.

The plaintiffs, two men identified only as John J. Doe 4 and John L. Doe 5, filed the suits Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court against the Archidiocese of Chicago and the Catholic Bishop of Chicago.

John Doe 4 alleges he was abused by McCormack when he attended the after-school “SAFE” program at Our Lady of the Westside Catholic School, according to the suit. He claims the abuse began when he was 8 years in 2002 and continued until 2006.

John Doe 5 claims in his separate suit that he was abused by McCormack while attending St. Agatha’s Catholic Church and playing basketball on the parish team. He claims the abuse began when he was 10 years old in 2003 and continued until 2006.

The suits allege the Archdiocese received warnings about McCormack’s behavior and could have stopped the abuse earlier.

Both four-count lawsuits seek more than $200,000 in damages.

“While we do not comment on lawsuits, we can reassure the public that the Archdiocese’s Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review responds to each and every reported case of sexual abuse of a minor by Archdiocesan personnel very seriously and treats each of the individuals involved with compassion and professionalism throughout the entire process,” according to a statement from a spokeswoman for the archdiocese.

“The Archdiocese of Chicago is committed to the help and healing of victims and abuse,” according to the statement.

McCormack was arrested in 2006 and later sentenced to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing five other children at St. Agatha on the West Side.

He faces a new set of criminal charges filed in 2014, this time for an alleged 2005 incident involving a minor boy, also at St. Agatha.

McCormack was removed from the priesthood in 2007. He has been staying at a state-run mental health facility since his release from prison.