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	Convicted Priest to Be Held at Treatment Facility CBS 2 April 10, 2006 http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_100195237.html (AP) CHICAGO A Roman Catholic priest convicted of molesting three boys will be held at a treatment center for sexually violent people until a hearing to determine if he should be committed there indefinitely, a DuPage County judge ruled Monday. The Rev. Frederick Lenczycki is scheduled to be paroled on Tuesday from the Dixon Correctional Center, where he has served two years for the aggravated sexual abuse of three boys from 1982 to 1984 while serving at a Hinsdale church. Instead of being released, Judge Edward Duncan ordered Lenczycki, 61, moved to a secure facility in Joliet, where he'll be in the custody of the state Department of Human Services, said DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett. "The good news is he won't be free," said Birkett, who is running for lieutenant governor as a Republican. "The bad news is that he continues to suffer from these mental disorders and that continues to make him a danger to society." On Friday, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Birkett petitioned to have Lenczycki committed on the grounds that he would probably molest other children if he was released -- the first time state officials have tried to hold a priest under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act, Birkett said. The state law, which took effect in 1998, allows the involuntary placement of a convicted sex offender in a mental institution until a judge determines he is no longer a threat to society. "This program ... seeks to make sure that people who are a danger to the community are not on the street and are not allowed outside of custody," said Madigan spokeswoman Melissa Merz. Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it is "substantially probable" Lenczycki will commit more crimes, but defense attorneys will be able to present evidence and experts to argue against his detention. A status hearing in the case is scheduled for May 1, Merz said. Lenczycki's attorney did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press. David Clohessy, national director for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said he was pleased with the judge's decision to move Lenczycki to Joliet. "We're thrilled, every day he is off the streets is a victory for kids," Clohessy said. At least 16 other states have passed similar civil commitment statutes for sex offenders, said Dr. Howard Zonana, a Yale University psychiatrist and medical director of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Some psychiatrists are uneasy about the laws because while many sexual offenders are anti-social and have psychological problems, not all of them meet the medical criteria to be committed, Zonana said. "The public doesn't care as long as they're not on the street," Zonana said. "Who wants to take the risk and say he's safe? So that's the bind, that's why it's so problematic." "The good news is he won't be free," said Birkett, who is running for lieutenant governor as a Republican. "The bad news is that he continues to suffer from these mental disorders and that continues to make him a danger to society."
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