List Of Accused Clergy Includes South Suburban Priests

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — A damning report that lists more than double the number of priests accused of sexual abuse than Illinois Catholic dioceses had earlier reported includes at least a dozen who served in south suburban churches during the past several decades.

They include a former Chicago Heights priest who was charged with possession of child pornography in 2015 while he was serving at a Chicago parish, a former Oak Forest priest whose accusations of abuse of young boys in 1979 later sparked a lawsuit and caused the Archdiocese to hire a public relations/crisis communications firm, and a man who was sent to a Homewood church as priest-in-residence after he had been removed from office amid allegations he sexually abused boys in Chicago.

The Anderson Report, released Wednesday by attorneys who represent victims of sexual abuse by priests, names about 400 accused priests, or about twice as many as those six Illinois dioceses have reported. Diocese lists often do not include accusations against priests that were not substantiated or accusations made against priests who had died. The Anderson report includes priests who were assigned to parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago, Diocese of Belleville, Diocese of Joliet, Diocese of Peoria, Diocese of Rockford and Diocese of Springfield, as well as religious clergy and lay persons accused of abuse. Many of the priests named in the Anderson Report were previously identified in court cases, but some do not appear on official diocesan lists. The Anderson Report also contains information from publicly available sources.

The report said it reveals "the horrifying scale of priests sexually assaulting minors to the present day." Authors wrote that they believe "that the Dioceses in Illinois have not publicly made available the full histories and their knowledge of their sexually abusive agents and employees."

The lists includes a synopsis of the allegations and timeline of where each priest served. The authors of the report note that most cases are allegations and have not necessarily been substantiated, and convictions are included.

The excerpt below shows when named priests served in the listed towns. It does not necessarily indicate that allegations stem from time served at that church.

Priests from the south suburbs who were named on the list include:

Chicago Heights
Thomas Francis Kelly
1978-1980 St. Kieran
He was accused of child sexual abuse in 1967, 1973 and 2014, and was named in two civil lawsuits. He is listed in the Archdiocese of Chicago’s list of Archdiocesan Priests with Substantiated Allegations of Sexual Misconduct with Minors.

Joseph G. Kromenaker
1992 St. Kieran

He was included in 2018 on the Diocese of Springfield’s list of clergy with substantiated cases
of sexual abuse of a minor.

Octavio Munoz Capetillo
2005-2008 St. Agnes
2006-2008 St. Paul
He was suspended in 2015 from the priesthood after he was charged with a felony for possessing child pornography.

Homewood
John William Curran
1996-1999 In Residence, St. Joseph
Curran has been accused of sexually abusing at least eight boys during his tenure as priest and is included in the Archdiocese of Chicago’s list of Archdiocesan Priests with Substantiated Allegations of Sexual Misconduct with Minors.

Midlothian
Patrick J. Lee
1977-1979 St. Christopher Church

In January 2019, Fr. Patrick Lee was placed on leave following an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor in 1979 when he was assigned to St. Christopher Parish in Midlothian.

Sr. Josephine Schmitz

Schmitz, a nun, worked at Corpus Christi in Chicago from about 1954
to 1957 and St. Christopher’s in Midlothian, from about 1969 to 1975, the report said. She is alleged to have sexually abused a boy in the early 1960s at Holy Trinity Sacred Heart School in Iowa. In 2004, the Archdiocese of Dubuque found the allegations to be unsubstantiated. One investigator found it credible.

Orland Park
Michael W. O’Connell
1984-1989 St. Michael Church
1998-2012 Our Lady of the Woods Church
In 2014 O'Connell was reinstated to active ministry after he was cleared of allegations of abusing a boy at Orland Park churches.

Oak Forest
John Allen Robinson
1979-1987 St. Damian

In 2006, he was included in the Archdiocese of Chicago’s list of Clergy with Substantiated Allegations of Sexual Misconduct with Minors.

William J. Cloutier
1977-1979 St. Damian Church
He was accused of raping a 13-year-old boy and then threatening him with a gun, saying he would kill him if he told his parents. He was also named in other allegations and a lawsuit. He died in 2003.

Park Forest
Richard M. Ruffalo
1976-1988 St. Mary’s

Allegations against Ruffalo include taking young boys to Las Vegas and sexually abusing them. He has been named in multiple civil lawsuits, one of which alleged that he and two other priests abused five brothers over six years. He was named on the Diocese of Joliet’s list of Diocesan Priests with Credible Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors Made Against Them While Serving in the Diocese of Joliet with “Substantiated Allegations.”

Steger
Lee Ryan

Ryan has been named in at least one civil lawsuit. He is listed in the Diocese of Joliet’s list of Diocesan Priests with Credible Allegation(s) of Sexual Misconduct with Minors Made Against Them While Serving in the Diocese of Joliet with “Substantiated Allegations.”

Tinley Park
Leonard G. Huske
1982-1988 Saint Julie Billiart Church

He was removed from public ministry in 2018 and is listed in the Archdiocese of Chicago’s list of clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual misconduct with minors.

Michael Weston
1977-1981 St. Julie Billiart
Weston was laicized in 2009 and is on the Archdiocese of Chicago’s list of Clergy with Substantiated Allegations of Sexual Misconduct with Minors. He admitted to one charge of abuse.

The full report can be found here.

The story contains information first reported by Patch manager Shannon Antinori.