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By Brett Herrmann
News Tribune
January 15, 2019
http://www.newstrib.com/news/the-illinois-valley-has-ties-to-a-list-of-priests/article_fc30bb2a-183f-11e9-a9bb-537c4f1c5c67.html
The Illinois Valley has ties to a list of priests with abuse allegations, and the list could get a lot longer
It was last month when Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan unveiled that the Catholic Church in Illinois had received allegations against at least 500 unnamed priests and clergy members. That’s 500 more than the already identified 185 clergy members that have been “credibly” accused of sexual abuse against children as determined by the six dioceses in the state of Illinois.
It was last month when Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan unveiled that the Catholic Church in Illinois had received allegations against at least 500 unnamed priests and clergy members. That’s 500 more than the already identified 185 clergy members that have been “credibly” accused of sexual abuse against children as determined by the six dioceses in the state of Illinois.
“Because I know that the Church has too often ignored survivors of clergy sexual assault, I want to share the initial findings from our work,” Madigan said. “While the findings are preliminary, they demonstrate the need for and importance of continuing this investigation.”
The Illinois Attorney General’s office began its investigation into the Catholic Church in August following the news of the child sexual abuse scandal in Pennsylvania. The four month investigation resulted in each Illinois diocese — Chicago, Joliet, Rockford, Peoria, Springfield and Belleville — publishing a list of the priests that have been “credibly” accused of sexual abuse in their respective diocese. Two of the diocese already had lists available before the investigation.
But there are still hundreds of priests yet to be identified through accusations spanning decades.
“The investigation has revealed that allegations frequently have not been adequately investigated by the dioceses or not investigated at all. In many cases, the Church failed to notify law enforcement authorities or Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) of allegations of child sexual abuse,” the Attorney General’s office stated in a press release. “Among the common reasons the dioceses have provided for not investigating an allegation is that the priest or clergy member was deceased or had already resigned at the time the allegation of child sexual abuse was first reported to the diocese.”
The Illinois Valley area already has ties to a long list of priests accused of sexual abuse. More than 15 priests who have served in the area in some capacity have had allegations made against them. Some have resulted in criminal charges. Many have resulted in lawsuits. And if Madigan’s findings are accurate, the list will continue to grow.
Here are the priests we currently know about, and where they are now.
John Anderson
Ordained: 1959
Defrocked: May 30, 2002
Accusation: Anderson was accused of sexual misconduct dating back 20-40 years from his removal from public ministry in 2002, according to the Peoria Diocese. Anderson was first accused of abuse in 1993 in Peoria and was reassigned to administrative duties, according to the Chicago Tribune. Those duties included director of Holy Childhood Association and Mission Co-Op Program, according to his assignments records. A more specific allegation of Anderson’s alleged abuse was made in October 2018. Darin Buckman said Anderson sexually abused him at St. Edwards Parish in Chillicothe from approximately 1979 to 1984 when Buckman was between 8 and 14 years old, the Chicago Sun-Times reported in October 2018.
Local connection: Anderson acted as the executive director for King’s House of Retreats in rural Putnam County from 1995-2002. The retreat is located near Henry. He was also the Diocese director of cemeteries from 1993-2002. Anderson retired in April 2002.
Legal action: The most recent allegation made against Anderson in October 2018 was part of a lawsuit filed against all Catholic dioceses in Illinois. A plaintiff in the lawsuit names Anderson as an abuser the Diocese of Peoria knew about for years before removing him from ministry.
Where is he now? As of June 2018, Anderson was conducting vespers (a service of evening prayer) at the Westminster Village retirement community in Bloomington where he is a resident. An activities calendar lists him as Rev. Fr. John Anderson, Roman Catholic, retired. When priests are removed from public ministry they are no longer allowed to be called “reverend” or “father” or function as Catholic priests in any public capacity.
Walter Breuning
Ordained: 1954
Defrocked: May 30, 2002
Accusation: Breuning is accused of sexual misconduct with a minor dating back 20-40 years from 2002, according to the Catholic Diocese of Peoria. He had retired in 1999. The accusations were not brought to the diocese until eight weeks prior to their removal from public ministry. A lawsuit filed against Breuning and the Diocese of Peoria alleges Breuning abused two brothers while assigned to St. Joseph Catholic Church in Pekin, according to the State Journal Register.
Local connection: Breuning was a former pastor of St. Joseph and St. Mary churches in Henry at the time of the accusation. He was assigned to St. Mary’s from 1973-1999 and St. Joseph’s from 1986-1999. He was a very involved member in the Henry community, participating in the River Valley Players, the senior meals program and finding a home for the Henry Early Learning Center. He would help fix holiday dinners for anyone who needed food, according to NewsTribune archives. Breuning also donated Henry’s current city hall building around 2009, according to an article in the Peoria Journal Star. He had been living in the building’s basement, which was the former River Park Center building.
Legal action: Breuning was named in a lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Peoria by a Rockford man who alleged he and his brother were abused in the late 60s and early 70s while Breuning was a pastor at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Pekin, according to an article in the Peoria Journal Star. The suit was filed in 2005 and tossed in 2007 before being reinstated in January 2009 by the 3rd District Court of Appeals in Ottawa. That suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, the Peoria Journal Star reported in 2013.
Where is he now? Breuning died on Nov. 2, 2009, and had a private Mass at St. Mary’s Church with burial at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Spring Valley, according to his obituary.
Terry Cassidy
Ordained: 1984
Defrocked: August, 26, 2015
Accusation: Cassidy is accused of sexual misconduct with a minor dating back 30 years from his 2015 removal from public ministry. Cassidy was a pastor at Christ the King Church in Moline in 1985. At the time of his removal from public ministry, he was the pastor at St. Ann Church in Peoria as well as a spiritual advisor for Cursillo and a spiritual advisor for Teens Encounter Christ.
Local connection: Cassidy briefly served as pastor of St. Mary Church in Wenona and St. John the Baptist Church in Lostant in 1994 and 1995.
Legal action: None
Where is he now? A Terry A. Cassidy is listed as a property owner in the city of Peoria, according to Peoria County GIS records.
Robert Creager
Ordained: June 6, 1954
Defrocked: May 30, 2002
Accusation: Creager is accused of sexual misconduct with a minor dating back 20-40 years from 2002, according to the Catholic Diocese of Peoria. The accusations were not brought to the diocese until eight weeks prior to his removal from public ministry.
Local connection: Creager was a pastor at St. Patrick’s in Ottawa from 1983 until he retired in 1998, according to NewsTribune archives. However, he periodically said Masses at the church and resided in Ottawa following his retirement.
Legal action: None
Where is he now? Creager died Oct. 25, 2008, in Ottawa Pavilion. A mass of Christian burial was held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church with Bishop Daniel Jenky and the Rev. Philip Halfacre officiating. He was buried in St. Columba Cemetery, according to his obituary.
William Harbert
Ordained: 1962
Defrocked: 1993
Accusation: Harbert was accused of abuse by multiple parties during his time as a priest. In 1993, three members of a Moline family accused Harbert of abuse while he was stationed in the Quad Cities. In 2004, a Cambridge man filed a lawsuit against Harbert and the Peoria Diocese claiming abuse while he was a priest in Walnut. And in 2007, a Peoria-area man filed another lawsuit claiming abuse while Harbert served in the Pekin and Sparland areas.
Local connection: Harbert was assigned to St. John Church in Walnut and Immaculate Conception Church in Ohio from 1981 to 1992. The Diocese said they removed him from public ministry after hearing the accusations made against him.
Legal action: Following the initial accusations leveled against Harbert in 1993, then Bishop John Myers told the Bloomington Pantagraph Harbert had been treated at the Isaac Ray Center in Chicago whose services included a sexual behaviors clinic. He was seeing a psychotherapist at the Diocese’s expense at the time. The Rev. James Campbell told the Pantagraph the diocese knew Harbert had a psychosexual problem and placed him in therapy “to safeguard the population from any difficulties that might occur.” Harbert admitted to the Diocese in 1993 that molestation allegations made against him by a Moline man were true.
The 2004 lawsuit against Harbert was settled outside of court in April 2005. That same lawsuit claimed two other priests — Francis Engels and Gregory Plunkett — also committed abuse.
Where is he now? Harbert died on April 24, 2003, at the age of 70 in his Galesburg home, according to his obituary. His funeral Mass was officiated by Bishop Daniel Jenky at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Galesburg and he was buried at St. Mary Cemetery in Sycamore.
George Hiland
Ordained: 1958
Defrocked: Nov. 1, 2018
Accusation: Hiland is alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor approximately 50 years ago. An exact 50 years would place Hiland at St. Stephen in Streator in 1968.
Local connection: Hiland was assigned to St. Stephen in Streator from 1958-1971 and at St. Patrick in Arlington from 1971-1976.
Legal action: The allegations have been reported to the current state’s attorney’s offices, the Dioceses of Peoria said. There are currently no charges filed against Hiland in La Salle, Bureau, Livingston or Peoria counties, according court records.
Where is he now? An obituary that ran in the NewsTribune in 2014 lists Hiland as a survivor living in Sebastian, Fla. According to current Indian River County property records, Hiland is still listed as a property owner in Sebastian.
Duane Leclercq
Ordained: May 31, 1964
Defrocked: Nov. 1, 2018
Accusation: Leclercq is alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor about 30 years ago. Exactly 30 years ago, Leclercq was assigned to St. John in Clinton and St. Patrick in Wapella just before moving to Earlville.
Local connection: Leclercq was assigned to St. Theresa in Earlville from 1989-91; St. Patrick in La Salle from 1994-2003; and Sacred Heart in Granville and St. Patrick in Hennepin from 2003-2008. He was also born in Spring Valley and served as an altar boy for the Rev. Philip T. Walsh, according to an article about Leclercq in The Catholic Post. It also mentioned he attended St. Bede Academy before studying for the priesthood.
Legal action: The allegations have been reported to the current state’s attorney’s offices, the Dioceses of Peoria said. There are currently no charges filed against Leclercq in La Salle, Putnam or Peoria counties, according court records.
Where is he now? Leclercq was granted senior status in 2008 “but continues to assist where he’s needed around the diocese,” The Catholic Post reported in May 2014. He assisted with funeral services in the area as late as January 2017, according to NewsTribune archives. The Catholic post listed his address on Fish-n-Fun Road in McNabb, a property he is still listed as the owner of, according to Putnam County GIS records.
Thomas Maloney
Ordained: 1967
Defrocked: Never. He retired from priesthood in 2002 due to poor health. He was granted the honorary monsignor title in 2000, according to the Bloomington Pantagraph. He is not included on the diocese list of priests removed from public ministry.
Accusation: Maloney was accused of sexually abusing a second-grade boy between 1995 and 1996 while Maloney was assigned to Epiphany Catholic Church in Normal. Maloney was also accused of abusing a 10-year-old girl in the 1970s at Epiphany Catholic Church.
Local connection: Maloney was assigned to St. Patrick’s in Ottawa shortly after his ordination up until 1972. Following the reassignment of the church’s pastor in 1972, many community members in Ottawa wrote letters to the Diocese of Peoria in support of Maloney being named the church’s next pastor, according to Maloney’s file.
Legal action: The Diocese of Peoria settled a lawsuit involving Maloney for $1.35 million in August 2013, according to the Associated Press. The suit alleged that former Bishop John Myers failed to prevent Maloney from abusing children, despite accusations made against Maloney to the diocese in the mid-1990s. In a deposition, Myers said he knew nothing of the alleged abuse. Myers did reveal in the deposition, which was made public, that Maloney often gave Myers gifts including rare coins, silver and a camera. In June 2008, the McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office found insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Maloney, according to the Bloomington Pantagraph.
Where is he now? Maloney died Aug. 7, 2009, at his home in Lexington, Ill. His funeral was held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Bloomington with Bishop Daniel Jenky presiding. Burial was at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Bloomington. Following his retirement in 2002, Maloney planned “to reside on rural property along the Mackinaw River, and also may travel to a retirement community home in St. Petersburg, Fla.,” according to The Catholic Post.
John Onderko
Ordained: 1962
Defrocked: Nov. 1, 2018
Accusation: Onderko is alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor about 55 years ago. Exactly 55 years ago would place him at Sacre Coeur in Creve Coeur in 1963, sandwiched between two assignments in La Salle.
Local connection: Onderko was assigned to St. Hyacinth in La Salle in 1962 and again from 1965-1980. He then went to Holy Cross in Mendota and Sts. Peter and Paul in Peterstown from 1980-1981. He then was assigned to Resurrection Parish in La Salle from 1993-2005 before being granted senior status (Resurrection Parish would close in 2007). He also attended St. Bede while it still functioned as a seminary, according to The Catholic Post.
Legal action: The allegations have been reported to the current state’s attorney’s offices, the Dioceses of Peoria said. There are currently no charges filed against Onderko in La Salle or Peoria counties, according court records.
Where is he now? Onderko was conducting funeral masses in the area as late as February 2012, according to NewsTribune archives. A May 2012 article in The Catholic Post listed him at a Rock Island address, but that property is an apartment complex not in his name, according to Rock Island GIS information.
Toussaint J. Perron
Ordained: Jan. 3, 1959
Defrocked: Toussaint Perron (sometimes spelled Tussaint) “was never a diocesan priest” the Diocese of Peoria said in 2005. He was a member of a religious order called The Society of Missionaries of Africa or “White Fathers.” He had no further assignments with them following his conviction in 1993 and moved back to his native Canada in 1996, according to his obituary.
Accusation: Perron, known as Father Jeff, was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy in Walnut’s St. John Church rectory during the summer and fall of 1992. He was also accused of abuse while he was assigned to St. John Church in Galva. The abuse allegedly occurred between 1982 and 1984 while the victim was 16 to 17 years old.
Local connection: Perron began working in the Peoria Diocese in the early ’70s and was assigned to St. John Church in Walnut and Immaculate Conception Church in Ohio in 1992.
Legal action: Perron served three years in prison for aggravated criminal sexual abuse. He was convicted in Bureau County court in February 1993 after being arrested in December 1992. The family of the victim later filed a lawsuit in La Salle County circuit court claiming negligence by the Diocese of Peoria. A second lawsuit was filed in November 2005 against Perron for his alleged abuse in Galva. That lawsuit was dropped and later refiled in January 2007. The suit was settled in May 2008, according to Peoria County circuit court records.
Where is he now? Perron died on Aug. 23, 2011, at Hospital of the Child Jesus in Quebec City, according to his obituary. A funeral was held for him in the church of the Saints-Martyrs-Canadians with Fr. Gerard Bouchard conducting the Mass. His ashes were spread in the village of St. Leon.
Gordon Pillon
Ordained: 1979
Defrocked: May 24, 2006
Accusation: Allegations of sexual misconduct of a minor were made against Pillon dating back nearly 25 years while he was a priest in the Diocese of Orange, Calif.
“The Diocese of Peoria was not aware of any allegations at the time of his incardination into the diocese of Peoria in 1993,” the Diocese stated at the time.
Local connection: Pillon was assigned to St. Patrick Church, St. Hyacinth and Holy Rosary in La Salle from 2003-2006 and Resurrection Parish in La Salle from 2005-2006. His duties had included Trinity Catholic School, according to NewsTribune archives. He went on personal leave from the parish in March 2006.
Legal action: The allegations and lawsuit brought against Pillon were actually made by a priest he was working with in La Salle. Former priest Ben Rodriquez said he was molested multiple times by Pillon between 1978 and 1981 at Pillon’s apartment in the rectory of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in La Habra. Rodriguez served with Pillon in La Salle from 2003-2006 before leaving the priesthood, according to the Associated Press.
Where is he now? When the lawsuit was filed in April 2009, Pillon was acting as a professor at the University of Northern Virginia campus in Prague, Czech Republic. That “university” was forced to close in 2013 when the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia revoked its license to operate, according to the Associated Press.
Jerry Pilon
Ordained: 1989
Defrocked: Jan. 22, 2009
Accusation: Allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor were made against Pilon dating back nearly 12 years ago from his 2009 dismissal. Twelve years before his removal from public ministry, Pilon was assigned to St. Anthony Church in Hoopeston.
“The alleged abuse did not take place in the Diocese of Peoria and the victim was not a minor with whom (Pilon) had served in any ministerial capacity,” the Diocese stated at the time. “Pilon has denied the allegations and has claimed that he is innocent.”
Pilon was assigned to St. Mary Church in Moline at the time of his dismissal.
Local connection: Pilon was briefly assigned to Holy Cross Church in Mendota and Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Peterstown from 1991-1992.
Legal action: None
Where is he now? At the time the allegations came out, Pilon had not been seen at St. Mary’s in Moline for several months, the Champaign News-Gazette reported. Pilon said in a July 2008 newsletter that he was visiting family in Michigan. The website fastpeoplesearch.com suggests he now lives in Ann Arbor. However, the property listed is owned by a Paul and Frances Pilon.
Gregory Plunkett
Ordained: 1988
Defrocked: May 30, 2002
Accusation: Plunkett was accused of exposing himself and fondling a teenaged boy in Cambridge, Ill. in the 1980s before he was ordained a priest, according to the State Journal Register. That accusation was made by Daniel Koenigs in May 2002 as part of a lawsuit filed against Plunkett and two other priests — Francis Engels and William Harbert. Plunkett denied the accusation.
Local connection: Plunkett was assigned to St. Columba’s in Ottawa from 1988-1990.
Legal action: The Koenigs lawsuit was settled in April 2005, according to the Associated Press. Plunkett was also charged in November 2003 for criminal sexual abuse involving a juvenile under the age of 17, according to the Decatur Herald and Review. Plunkett was later found not guilty during a jury trial in November 2004 for that charge, according to Mercer County court records.
Where is he now? Plunkett died at the age of 66 on Oct. 2, 2011, at Mercer County Hospital in Aledo, Ill. He is listed as a New Windsor resident at the time, according to his obituary. His funeral was at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Matherville with burial at Farlow Grove Cemetery, also in Matherville.
Samuel Pusateri
Ordained: June 9, 1979
Defrocked: Still active
Accusation: Pusateri was charged with criminal sexual assault of a minor in March 2014. The Diocese of Peoria notes Pusateri was a priest ordained for St. Bede Benedictine Abbey and was not a priest of the diocese. Since 1991 he has not been granted faculties by the Diocese of Peoria.
Local connection: Pusateri worked as a teacher, chaplain and counselor at St. Bede for at least two decades before he was charged, according to NewsTribune archives.
Legal action: Pusateri originally pleaded not guilty to the charges made against him. However, on May 14, 1991 he changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison. He served time at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, according to the Associated Press. The minimum sentence was four years and the maximum was 15.
“Most of the acts of sexual misconduct took place in Pusateri’s second floor school office between fall of 1989 and December 1990. The boy was 15 when the offenses started,” according to NewsTribune archives.
Where is he now? St. Bede Abbey still lists Pusateri on its website with the note, “Fr. Samuel is temporarily a member of the international community at San Paolo fuori le Mura (St. Paul’s Outside the Walls), Rome, Italy.”
Past issues of The Beda Review confirm Pusateri was an active member at the ancient basilica in Rome, acting as an “external confessor.” However, the latest issue, the 2017-18 Beda Review, states Pusateri has been transferred to the Benedictine community at Sant’Anselmo all’Aventino (St Anselm on the Aventine), which is a Roman Catholic church, monastery and college located in Rome.
John B. Turnbull
Ordained: 1955
Defrocked: Turnbull was placed on administrative leave in 2005 after abuse allegations surfaced. He is a member of the Franciscan order of the Roman Catholic Church from the St. John the Baptist province in Cincinnati. He was a pastor at Holy Family Church in Oldenburg, Ind. at the time he was accused.
Accusation: A man accused Turnbull of abuse while he was assigned to St. Anthony’s in Streator. The accuser was a parochial school student at the time.
Local connection: Turnball was assigned to St. Anthony’s in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Most of his other assignments were in Ohio and Indiana.
Legal action: None.
Where is he now? Turnbull is listed as a resident at StoneBridge at Winton Woods, a retirement community in Cincinnati. The center is at the former site of the St. Francis Seminary and has a community for members of the Franciscan order. As of August 2010, Turnbull was listed as a member of the garden club there. The Franciscan Alumni Association does not have him listed as a deceased member.
William Virtue
Ordained: Nov. 29, 1975
Defrocked: Feb. 23, 2006 by the Peoria Diocese
Accusation: Allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor were made dating back about 25 years from when he was removed from public ministry. During the time of the abuse mentioned in the allegation, Virtue was a priest in the Diocese of Joliet, the Diocese of Peoria stated at the time. Virtue was incardinated into the Diocese of Peoria in 1986. The Diocese said Virtue denied the allegations and claimed his innocence.
Local connection: Virtue was assigned to Sacred Heart in Granville and St. Theresa in Cedar Point in 1992. He then was assigned to St. Theresa in Earlville from 1996-1999 and again in 2005 up until the allegations made against him in 2006. Virtue took a leave of absence from St. Theresa two weeks before he was dismissed, according to NewsTribune archives.
Legal action: A civil suit was filed in May 2006 by two brothers who alleged Virtue abused one of the brothers while he was a seventh-grader at St. Mary’s Parish in Mokena. That lawsuit against the Diocese of Joliet and Virtue was settled out of court in 2007. However, Virtue’s personal files (about 500 pages of letters and memos) were made public in 2013 as part of a lawsuit filed against him and 15 other priests. The files outlined a history of boundary issues Virtue had with young children, such as a 100 mile road trip from Peoria to Joliet with an adolescent.
“When Will County sheriff’s deputies found the Rev. William Virtue sneaking into a private quarry in 1986, police records state that the Roman Catholic priest had blankets, two six packs of beer and a 10-year-old boy with him. He fled on foot when officers arrived, leaving the child behind,” the Chicago Tribune reported in 2013.
Where is he now? A timeline from 2014 by the office of Jeff Anderson and Associates states Virtue lived in Batavia. The website propertyrecords.com suggests Virtue still lives at a Batavia residence. The property listed is owned by a Patrick Virtue, according to Kane County property tax records. In April 2009, a letter from J. Peter Sartain, Bishop of Joliet, denied Virtue’s request to be reincardinated into the Diocese of Joliet. Part of Virtue’s file includes a letter stating Virtue showed up at a victim’s home to clear his name in November 2010.
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