CHICAGO (IL)
WGN-TV [Chicago IL]
March 30, 2022
By Ben Bradley and Andrew Schroedter
[VIDEO]
Daniel McCormack served five years in prison for molesting young boys. Now, he’s a free man but his legal troubles are far from over.
WGN Investigates has learned the former priest spent hours being deposed Wednesday by attorneys in several pending civil cases. The plaintiffs allege they were sexually abused by McCormack.
“His demeanor was pretty flat and matter-of-fact,” says Attorney Gene Hollander. “To me, he didn’t show any remorse at all.”
Hollander and other attorneys asked McCormack more than 500 questions. But he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and refused to address any of the allegations.
Several of the lawsuits specifically target the Catholic Bishop of Chicago claiming the “Diocese acquiesced to McCormack’s continued involvement in school and parish activities after they knew or should have known of McCormack’s abuse.”
In 2007, McCormack pled guilty to abusing five boys during his time at St. Agatha Roman Catholic Church on the city’s West Side.
He was sentenced to prison and spent what was supposed to be an indefinite amount of time at a state facility for sexually violent people.
Last summer, an Illinois Appellate Court ordered his release. WGN Investigates tracked down McCormack last October. He was out of prison and walking the streets of downtown Chicago.
That day, he was much more talkative than he was during the deposition.
“I did ask him specifically: ‘Did you know John Doe, did you meet him at St. Agatha or St. Albie’s,” Hollander says. “ Mr. Doe alleged you did this to him. Did you do that’ regarding all those victims and all those allegations, he invoked the [Fifth Amendment].”
In court filings, McCormack stands accused of abusing at least 30 victims over the years. Sources tell WGN Investigates the actual number could be substantially higher.