By Adam Rosen
Berwyn Life
January 15, 2010
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/mccook/features/x532582033/City-employee-placed-on-leave-pending-police-investigation
Berwyn, IL — An employee for the City of Berwyn has been placed on administrative leave pending a police investigation into allegations that the employee allegedly sexually abused five boys in the 1980s.
Barbara Blaine, founder and president of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, submitted a letter to Berwyn City Hall on Thursday asking for an investigation into Senior Advocate Frank Paduch's past and why he allegedly failed to disclose information about his past when he was hired.
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| Frank Paduch |
A civil lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court against Paduch in 1997 alleging that Paduch, while serving as a theology teacher and soccer coach at St. Rita High School in Chicago, sexually abused a student during the 1980-81 school year. The lawsuit claims the victim, a freshman at St. Rita during the 1980-81 school year, was sexually assaulted by Paduch. It sought monetary damages for physical and mental anguish.
The suit settled for an undisclosed amount of money two years later. Blaine said that two of the additional four alleged victims have come forward through an attorney but that none have filed a lawsuit against Paduch.
Phone calls to Paduch seeking comment were unsuccessful, and no one answered the door at his listed address, 6337 Roosevelt Road, on Friday.
Berwyn Police Chief William Kushner said Paduch has been placed on administrative leave while the department investigates the allegations.
"There is nothing to indicate that this subject has posed a threat to anyone during his employment in the City of Berwyn," Kushner said.
Kushner said he was unsure of when the investigation would be complete. He said he was not sure if a background check was completed on Paduch prior to his employment with the city in July 2005.
Blaine said the issue came to light after several citizens reported to her organization that Paduch was working for the city close to a school. Paduch works at the Berwyn Cultural Center at 6420 W. 16th St., which is across the street from Lincoln Middle School.
"We are urging you to take immediate action to safeguard Berwyn's citizens," Blaine's letter states. "We're especially worried because he works near a school and in a community center where a theatre company is located."
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