$3.2 Million Settlement for Childhood Abuse Victim of Defrocked Priest Daniel McCormack
Won by Abels & Annes, P.C..
Abels & Annes co-counseled a $3.2 million settlement for a childhood sexual abuse survivor against the Archdiocese of Chicago and Cardinal Francis George after the archdiocese kept defrocked priest Daniel McCormack in ministry despite warnings from its own review board.
What happened
Between ages 10 and 12, a Chicago boy was sexually abused by Daniel McCormack, a priest at St. Agatha Catholic Church who also taught at a Catholic school. McCormack was first arrested in August 2005, but was released without charges. The Archdiocese of Chicago's own sexual-abuse review board urged his removal from ministry that same October. Cardinal Francis George did not act on that recommendation. McCormack remained in contact with children until a second arrest in January 2006 led to his removal.
McCormack pleaded guilty in 2007 to abusing five boys. He was sentenced to five years in prison and ultimately defrocked. After serving roughly two and a half years, he was placed in a mental health facility while state prosecutors sought his indefinite commitment under Illinois's Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act. Nine additional abuse allegations emerged after the original conviction.
The victim's family filed a civil lawsuit in 2007 against both the Archdiocese of Chicago and Cardinal George personally, alleging the institution refused to remove McCormack from access to children even after it had credible knowledge of the abuse. This was the last of the five admitted-victim claims to be resolved.
Abels & Annes co-counseled the case alongside Hilfman & Martin. On November 15, 2011, the parties reached a settlement of $3.2 million. Attorney William Martin noted after the resolution that the plaintiff was able to confront the Archdiocese directly and name what had been done wrong. The Archdiocese declined to comment on the settlement's specific terms but acknowledged its practice of reaching out to victims.
The settlement closed the final civil claim tied to the five boys McCormack admitted to abusing. At least two additional lawsuits against the Archdiocese from other alleged victims remained pending at the time of the announcement.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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