ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune
By Jennifer Delgado
Tribne reporter
8:34 p.m. CDT, October 2, 2013
Seven years ago, the Archdiocese of Chicago removed the popular pastor of a southwest suburban church after he was accused of molesting two brothers.
But Burbank Mayor Harry Klein thought the Rev. Robert Stepek was innocent. So, in 2007, he recommended the priest for a different position of authority: police department counselor, helping victims who sometimes included children. Stepek got the job.
The hiring came at a time of increasing public furor over the church’s handling of molestation allegations and divided many in Burbank.
Klein, like some other parishioners at St. Albert the Great, put his trust in Stepek and defended the decision to hire the priest.
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