Child Molestation Chicago

Authorities here are telling the horrific tale of four years in the lives of a young boy and three girls who allegedly were molested, beaten, injected with cocaine and served a diet of fried rats and boiled cockroaches. Gerald Hill--the father of two of the children and stepfather to the others--faces 1,200 counts of abuse. His apparently estranged wife, Barbara, was charged last week with four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault--with more expected soon from a Cook County grand jury.

Prosecutors on Wednesday dropped all 1,200 counts of child abuse filed against a man who had been accused of molesting and beating two of his children and two stepchildren over a four-year period in a case that shocked this city. Lesser charges against his wife also were dismissed in a separate court hearing later in the day.

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, accused last November of sexual abuse, was exonerated of all charges Monday when a former high school seminary student dropped a $10-million lawsuit against the prominent churchman, saying that his memory was unreliable. Attorneys for Steven J. Cook told a federal court in Cincinnati that although Cook, now 34, believes he had been sexually abused when he was a 17-year-old seminarian in the mid-1970s, he no longer could be sure that it was Bernardin.

Authorities here are telling the horrific tale of four years in the lives of a young boy and three girls who allegedly were molested, beaten, injected with cocaine and served a diet of fried rats and boiled cockroaches. Gerald Hill--the father of two of the children and stepfather to the others--faces 1,200 counts of abuse. His apparently estranged wife, Barbara, was charged last week with four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault--with more expected soon from a Cook County grand jury.

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, one of the most prominent Roman Catholic prelates in the United States and a leading voice against sexual abuse by the clergy, was accused Friday by a former high school seminarian of molesting him in the mid-1970s. Bernardin unequivocally denied the charges. "The allegations are totally untrue. They're categorically false," Bernardin told reporters at the Chicago archdiocesan chancery. "I have never abused anyone, at any time and at any place."

Hundreds of parishioners cheered and applauded Sunday as a priest who was accused of molesting two boys nearly 20 years ago signed a new covenant with Holy Angels Church and returned as its pastor. "To receive that kind of support, it was overwhelming," the Rev. John Calicott said afterward. Calicott became the first Roman Catholic priest in Chicago and one of few in the nation to return after being suspended for allegations of sexual abuse.

A Roman Catholic priest whose case was instrumental in changing the way area church officials deal with sexual abuse by the clergy was sentenced Friday to three years in jail for fondling a teen-age girl. The Rev. Robert Mayer, 53, was convicted in December of four counts of sexual abuse involving a 14-year-old student who had come to his rectory for counseling.

Rallying around Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops on Monday expressed complete confidence in the popular prelate's "ultimate vindication" on sexual abuse charges and roundly applauded a denunciation of the news media by their president. The criticism of the news media and the show of support for Bernardin came as 275 bishops opened the annual fall meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops here. The U.S.

Prosecutors on Wednesday dropped all 1,200 counts of child abuse filed against a man who had been accused of molesting and beating two of his children and two stepchildren over a four-year period in a case that shocked this city. Lesser charges against his wife also were dismissed in a separate court hearing later in the day.

Hundreds of parishioners cheered and applauded Sunday as a priest who was accused of molesting two boys nearly 20 years ago signed a new covenant with Holy Angels Church and returned as its pastor. "To receive that kind of support, it was overwhelming," the Rev. John Calicott said afterward. Calicott became the first Roman Catholic priest in Chicago and one of few in the nation to return after being suspended for allegations of sexual abuse.

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, accused last November of sexual abuse, was exonerated of all charges Monday when a former high school seminary student dropped a $10-million lawsuit against the prominent churchman, saying that his memory was unreliable. Attorneys for Steven J. Cook told a federal court in Cincinnati that although Cook, now 34, believes he had been sexually abused when he was a 17-year-old seminarian in the mid-1970s, he no longer could be sure that it was Bernardin.

Rallying around Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops on Monday expressed complete confidence in the popular prelate's "ultimate vindication" on sexual abuse charges and roundly applauded a denunciation of the news media by their president. The criticism of the news media and the show of support for Bernardin came as 275 bishops opened the annual fall meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops here. The U.S.

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, one of the most prominent Roman Catholic prelates in the United States and a leading voice against sexual abuse by the clergy, was accused Friday by a former high school seminarian of molesting him in the mid-1970s. Bernardin unequivocally denied the charges. "The allegations are totally untrue. They're categorically false," Bernardin told reporters at the Chicago archdiocesan chancery. "I have never abused anyone, at any time and at any place."

A Roman Catholic priest whose case was instrumental in changing the way area church officials deal with sexual abuse by the clergy was sentenced Friday to three years in jail for fondling a teen-age girl. The Rev. Robert Mayer, 53, was convicted in December of four counts of sexual abuse involving a 14-year-old student who had come to his rectory for counseling.