Priest Sex Abuse Survivors Promote Hope, Healing at Mass in Chicago

WRITTEN BY TINA SFONDELES
Chicago Sun-Times

Mike Hoffman, childhood sexual abuse survivor and chairman of the
Healing Garden Planning Committee. / Tina Sfondeles

Four years ago, James Richter – a childhood clergy sexual abuse survivor — couldn’t look at the faces of those who sat in the pews of Holy Family Parish for a Mass promoting healing for victims of sexual abuse.

On Saturday, he rose his head high — looking into the faces of those sitting in those pews – and spoke about the great hope and faith that has returned to his life.

“It’s very, very nice to see your faces. I wasn’t able to say that four years ago when I went to my first Mass because the tears of shame and abuse, of loneliness, of sorrow, of isolation, they would have prevented me from seeing your face,” Richter said.

Richter joined about five other survivors in the Archdiocese of Chicago service aimed at promoting recovery for survivors and for their families, as well as calling on the Catholic community and society to protect children.

James Richter, a survivor of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest / Tina Sfondeles

“Who are we gathered today? We are laity, priests, deacons, young and old, men and women. We are victims, survivors, friends, caregivers. We are counselors and assistants. We are the church. We are the children of God,” said the Rev. Ronald Hicks, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Both Richter and Mike Hoffman, another survivor, are part of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Healing Garden Committee. The garden, next to Holy Family church is a place where survivors can go to look for a safe place to cope.

Hoffman — who kept his abuse secret for 30 years – told churchgoers about a recent visit to the parish where he was abused, St. Mary in Lake Forest. He brought his current pastor to the church to speak with a priest there.

Those two priests, he said, helped him immensely.

“I share that story with you to provide a deeply personal example of two priests who helped me express myself on this terrible topic in my life. Talking about my story of abuse has helped me reconcile myself to the truth of the abuse and how it has affected my family. I now can look back at my youth with an understanding that my abuser can no longer harm me or my family,” Hoffman, 50, of Edgebrook said.

He also urged any victims of childhood sexual abuse to come forward.

Robert Mayer, the priest who abused Hoffman, was convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor in 1992. He was formally laicized in 2010.

“Knowing that childhood sexual abuse cuts so close to the heart and soul of everyone who entered this church this morning, it is my hope and prayer, that each of us can lay that pain, and terrible sadness, at this altar,” Hoffman told the church. “With an open heart and an open mind, we gather this morning to pray.”

Hoffman and Richter both help plan the Mass every year, as well as an event in the garden for children, in which survivors speak to them about child abuse prevention.

Hoffman said his faith is still strong, and he wants the Catholic community to know there are plenty of great priests out there.

“Even though a priest abused me, not all of them are abusers,” Hoffman said. “We have to live with this and there could be deep despair but there can be hope at the end. I feel really good right now. This is a great moment of sharing for me.”

'Coming out' about your childhood sex abuse is an extremely important part of getting out from under its terrible weight. Eventually coming to a place of forgiveness is an important step in healing. If you have a secret of sexual abuse, it's time to share it and begin to heal.

Winnetka School Memo on Elderly Ex-Teacher Suggests '100 Children Abused'

Bill Bricker listens to longtime friend Jim Foster as they await an extradition
 hearing for Bricker on Oct. 27 in court in Traverse City, Mich.

"Could have 100 children abused. Employee gone ... Letting sleeping dogs lie may be more helpful ... Statute of limitations anyway ... Problem that can be controlled ... No proof."

— Excerpts from an unsigned Feb. 23, 1995, page of notes among the Winnetka District 36 personnel records of retired teacher Bill Bricker.

Who wrote those phrases, arguably chilling and soulless? And under what circumstances, exactly? In disclosing them Friday, Tribune reporters Karen Ann Cullotta and Lisa Black called the first phrase — Could have 100 children abused — as inscrutable as it is potentially damning. How did they know there could be 100 children involved?

The page of handwritten notes erupts, suggestive yet mysterious, from two decades past. It cannot be read as a verdict on Bricker, who is now 94, under home confinement and receiving hospice care in Michigan. He is fighting extradition to Wyoming, where he has been accused of sexually abusing children in 1962, 1968 and 1985. Bricker has not been tried or convicted, and he says he is innocent. We leave adjudication to the courts.

The notes do, though, intensify the focus on Winnetka District 36, which likely is in the early stages of an ordeal that is years from resolution.

Institutions can emerge from such ordeals, but not without long processes of excavating internal documents and decisions, evaluating how administrators dealt with accusations as they arrived, providing assistance to those who report past abuse and setting protocols to handle future complaints of sexual abuse.

We've watched for 23 years as the Archdiocese of Chicago walked this path, occasional serious stumbles and all. Many critics never will forgive the administrative maneuvers — none more offensive than shuffling known offenders from parish to parish — of prior archbishops and their regimes. But the archdiocese has made substantial efforts to address its scandal and assist its victims.

In time we'll all be able to similarly evaluate the Winnetka school district's response to its unfolding crisis.

In 1992, the Winnetka Chamber of Commerce cited Bill Bricker's work as a teacher and Troop 18 Boy Scout leader in declaring him "Man of the Year." What the chamber evidently didn't know: At several points in prior decades, the Winnetka school district that employed Bricker had fielded accusations of inappropriate contact with its students.

The Tribune has identified at least 11 men and women who say Bricker molested them, with accusations dating to the mid-1950s. District officials evidently were aware of claims against Bricker as early as 1968.

Friday's story says it's unclear to what extent officials and law enforcement investigated those complaints. A school district attorney declined to name the author of the 1995 notes or explain the context. A former superintendent told the Tribune in October that he visited the Cook County state's attorney's office after the district received one complaint in 1993. Details are sketchy, but it appears that nothing came of that outreach.

A younger Bill Bricker

For the moment, though, these are dots of information. They're untethered from one another, yet to be reduced to a timeline and a cohesive explanation — the who, what and when of the serial allegations against Bricker, and an inquest of how the school district's leaders responded. Did they put the protection of children first? Did they not engage? Something else? Separately, Wyoming authorities are focused on Bricker's summer work at Teton Valley Ranch Camp and the accusations against him there.

Winnetka District 36 will learn from this crucible experience, as the Archdiocese of Chicago already has, and as other institutions can when abuse accusations arise. After reading about the 1993 complaint against Bricker, we reimagined the case as if the district had followed the protocols that, by that year, the archdiocese already had in place:

If all went according to plan, District 36 officials would have reviewed Bricker's prior record, initially evaluated the allegations, offered assistance to whoever had alleged the abuse, and reported the case to civil authorities for investigation and potential prosecution.

We wish peace for those who say they were abused, whether by clerics, educators, parents or anyone else. And from District 36 officials past and present, we ask ownership of the crisis, accountability for whatever occurred, and transparency with the public as they examine allegations and past performance.

The ultimate purpose of this ordeal is the protection of children. Getting to justice won't be easy. Nor should it be.

Winnetka is an affluent village of about 12,000, 20 miles north of Chicago center on the shores of Lake Michigan. 

American Pervert Round-up No.7

Gadsden, Alabama man, arrested on child sex abuse, pornography charges

A 69-year-old Gadsden man has been charged with child sex abuse after a missing girl's parents found their daughter at his home.

Etowah County deputies responded to Walter Donald Edwards' home on Trailwood Lane in the Tidmore Bend area to investigate the report of a missing juvenile early Sunday morning.

When they arrived, the child's parents had already found their daughter at Edwards' home.

Investigators searched Edwards' home and found child pornography inside.

Deputies arrested Edwards on Nov. 30 and charged him with sexual abuse of a child less than 12, production of obscene matter and possession of child pornography.

He is being held on a $150,000 cash bond in the Etowah County Detention Center.

Gadsden, northeast Alabama, once the home of Goodyear Tire and Republic Steel

Feds nab Tahlequah, Oklahoma man in Chicago for charges of child sex abuse

Federal authorities in Chicago have arrested a Tahlequah author and former corrections officer accused of sexually abusing a young family member.

Cherokee County Undersheriff Jason Chennault said Dale W. Jackson, 31, was arrested by federal authorities when he arrived in Chicago following a trip to Japan.

Jackson was formally charged in Cherokee County District Court Monday with sexual abuse of a child under age 12. Prosecutors allege Jackson performed lewd and indecent acts to the girl.

His Cherokee County bond has been set at $50,000, court documents show.

The girl disclosed several instances of alleged sexual abuse from Jackson. She claimed, during the interview, that the sexual contact occurred in a Park Hill-area home – once when another adult family member was asleep and a second child was in another room.

During the interview, the alleged victim claimed Jackson would allow her to play games on his cellular telephone after he touched her.

Chennault said the girl also alleges Jackson took nude photographs of her body with his cell phone. The girl was unable to tell officials how many times Jackson had taken photos of her, but said that on some occasions, Jackson was also undressed when he took the pictures.

The victim said Jackson “told her on two occasions, ‘Don’t tell anyone,’” Chennault reported.

Tahlequah, Capitol of Oklahoma Cherokee Nation

Jury convicts Chicago-area man of child sex abuse

CARPENTSERVILLE, Illinois — A jury has found a Chicago-area man guilty of sexually assaulting a child over a three-year period.

The Kane County state's attorney's office said Sergio Tinajero of Carpentersville was convicted Wednesday of predatory sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual abuse after the jury deliberated for about 2 ½ hours. The 54-year-old faces 27 to 127 years in prison when he is sentenced in February.

Police say Tinajero abused the child who was under the age of 13 between 2009 and 2012 at his home. Police started investigating after a school counselor reported overhearing the victim telling a friend about the assaults.

Tinajero had been free on $15,000 bond but it was revoked upon his conviction. He will have to register as a sex offender if he is released.

Carpentersville is a village of about 38,000 just northwest of Chicago.

Carpentersville 1898

Parents of autistic child sue Novi schools for sex abuse

A federal lawsuit has been filed against Novi Community Schools that alleges a student was sexually assaulted at Novi Middle School over a period of several months.

In a 43 page complaint filed on December 1 with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division, the parents of a 13-year-old boy are alleging the minor was sexually abused by another student at the middle school. The school district and four staff members are named as part of the suit.

The suit's allegations state incidents of sexual abuse occurred on multiple occasions during a special education English Language Arts class, on a virtually daily basis during a special education Math class, and on at least one occasion in another class.

According to the complaint, both students were part of the school's special education program. The 13-year-old plaintiff has an Autism Spectrum Disorder and the alleged perpetrator suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Unspecified Mood Disorder.

The time line began in September 2013 and continued until February 26, 2014, and allegedly included intimidation, threats, coercion, grooming, and manipulation, and the perpetrator repeatedly and systematically sexually abused the 13-year-old plaintiff during classes at NMS.

The complaint also alleges, "Under numerous Novi School District written policies, every one of these improper touching incidents should have generated a parental contact, but there was no such parental contact. "

It goes on to state if the Novi School District had notified the parents when it first learned of this behavior, the plaintiff would have been spared months of molestation, abuse, and terror.

Overall, the complaint cites the staff and Novi School district did not properly act to protect the victim yet knew about the harassment.

Novi is a city of about 55,000, 25 miles northwest of the center of Detroit

Pedophile Files Released by Chicago Archdiocese Heavily Sanitized

Lawyer Jeff Anderson speaks at a Chicago news conference Tuesday about the
release of new church documents related to the removal of three Chicago
Archdiocese priests because of child sex abuse allegations.
(Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune)

They were among the most popular and influential priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Robert Kealy was a lawyer who handled sex abuse claims against priests, R. Peter Bowman was a former high-ranking church administrator and John Calicott was a South Side priest adored by his parishioners and who held leadership roles in the church.

All three men were abruptly pulled from ministry in 2002 by Cardinal Francis George amid accusations they sexually abused children decades earlier. Their removal, with the archdiocese providing scant information, bewildered and angered parishioners, many of whom refused to believe the allegations.

Now, more than 12 years later, a clearer understanding of what the three priests were accused of doing, and how the archdiocese responded, has emerged from internal church documents that George ordered released last week.

Kealy admitted to smoking marijuana and drinking with boys in the 1970s, and the church found he "engaged in acts of sexual misconduct with a minor," according to the files. Bowman allegedly abused at least seven children, including forcing a seventh-grade boy to perform oral sex on him. Calicott, according to his file, allegedly engaged in oral sex with two boys, ages 12 and 14.

Cardinal Francis George

Their once-secret files are among those the archdiocese released about 36 priests accused of sexually abusing children. They contain about one-fourth of the more than 15,000 pages of documents and provide details into how Kealy, Bowman and Calicott questioned their accusers' accounts and challenged policies the archdiocese used to remove them from ministry. None of the three was charged criminally.

While the files for the three priests contain thousands of pages, they are heavily redacted in places and do not include victims' statements, which often provide gut-wrenching accounts of the abuse they suffered.

Instead, they include sterile paragraph-long summaries of the victims' accusations, which the archdiocese said was done, in part, to protect the identities of the victims.

"Victims are free to choose to disclose information concerning their allegation; however that is not a choice the archdiocese should make on their behalf," the church said in a statement Tuesday.

By comparison, more than two dozen priest files released by victims' lawyers in January, as part of a settlement with the archdiocese, contained more complete accounts. For instance, those files included an email exchange in which an accused priest told a victim he would do whatever he could to help victims find peace because "I was part of an evil system."

Victims and their advocates told the Tribune they were frustrated and disappointed by the release of what they see as sanitized files aimed at shoring up the Roman Catholic Church's image as it tries to put the scandal behind it.

David Lasley was a 12-year-old altar boy in the 1970s when he says John Calicott, the pastor at St. Ailbe Catholic Church, abused him. He has a bin filled with letters he wrote at the time to vent his frustration as well as letters Calicott sent to him.

David Lasley

One of Bowman's victims, who was allegedly abused in the 1960s when he was an 11-year-old altar boy, said the archdiocese should have provided a more exhaustive account of the allegations against the priests. He said the archdiocese should not have blacked out details that may have cast priests and the church in a more negative light.

"I am very disappointed at the information released by the church," said the victim, who asked not to be identified by name.

Lawyer Jeff Anderson, who negotiated January's document release, said the church's release of the files without any outside scrutiny makes it impossible to determine what was withheld or if church officials were misleading the public by issuing "half truths." He said that among the files he had reviewed, Kealy's was one of the most troubling.

Under Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Robert "Bob" Kealy was a high-ranking lawyer who served on the committee that handled sex abuse cases within the church. As chancellor in the 1980s and early 1990s, he wrote letters informing priests they were being placed on leave because of abuse allegations.

Then in 1992, "a young adult male" accused Kealy of making a sexual advance at a party. Kealy would later dispute some of the details, but Bernardin — handling the matter himself — arranged for Kealy to resign as chancellor.

"This allegation was of great concern to Cardinal Bernardin since Bob was playing a major role in dealing with priests accused of misconduct with minors," according to a memo between church officials. "It was determined that Bob needed to leave the Chancellor's Office quickly and quietly."

Bernardin moved Kealy from the chancellor's office in March 1992 to Immaculate Conception Church in Highland Park, church documents show.

In June 2001, a man accused Kealy of grabbing his crotch in the 1970s, when he was 15 or 16 years old. At the time, Kealy was pastor at St. Germaine Church in Oak Lawn. Kealy, according to church documents, admitted he used poor judgment by drinking with boys at the rectory and, on one occasion, smoking marijuana with them. But he said "nothing of a sexual nature ever occurred," according to the files.

A church board reviewed the accusations and found no "reasonable cause to suspect" Kealy of child sex abuse. The review board, however, took a second look at the accusations in March 2002 after the man told church officials another person could corroborate his story and he threatened to go to the media.

Days later, the review board reversed its earlier decision and found there was reasonable cause to believe sexual misconduct had occurred. Kealy, according to records, then admitted to "two other instances of abuse with minors," though he later said the church misunderstood his comments. He insisted he did not abuse anyone.

Robert "Bob" Kealy, R. Peter Bowman, John Calicott

By then, Kealy was pastor of Sts. Faith, Hope and Charity Church, a wealthy and prominent North Shore parish. He resigned from the parish that day.

In the documents, Kealy wrote to a bishop he had resigned from the parish for the good of the church and because of an "environment of media hysteria" that would hamper his ability to effectively do his job.

George determined that Kealy could never return to parish ministry where he would be around children. Kealy asked George to reassess his findings, but the cardinal would not budge.

In April 2006, Kealy resigned from the archdiocese.

Now in his mid-60s and working as a lawyer, Kealy could not be reached for comment. His lawyer, Joseph V. Roddy, said Kealy objected to the release of his file.

"He is a wonderful man and he has consistently denied he ever abused anyone," Roddy said.

R. Peter Bowman was 73 when he was removed from ministry in May 2002 after church officials found that he had sexually abused a boy more than 45 years earlier. Although he was retired at the time, he still sometimes said Mass at a Lincoln Park church.

George said it was a difficult decision because Bowman was "someone whom I know and I respect." Bowman had served as a top deputy to both George and Bernardin.

The newly released documents for the first time detail a pattern of alleged child sex abuse over many years by Bowman. The documents also show that the church struggled to monitor Bowman, who repeatedly ignored orders restricting his activities by holding Mass at his home, leaving his residence without reporting where he was going and spending time in homes where they were children.

He even regularly urinated on his log sheets "to avoid accountability," according to the documents.

"There is no way to verify the extent of the violations ... because of his repeated deceptions and disappearances," according to the documents.

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin

Between 2000 and 2012, at least 11 people alleged that Bowman had sexually abused them, with most of the alleged abuse occurring from the 1950s to at least the 1980s, according to the documents.

The archdiocese found seven credible accusations of child sex abuse, when the victims were between 8 and 16 years old. The alleged abuse included kissing, genital fondling and oral sex in various churches, at a rectory and during out-of-state trips.

Bowman, in the church documents, maintained his innocence.

"I have never acted with any intent, purpose, desire, lust, or motive for sexual gratification with any child," he wrote to George in December 2002.

In a July 2009 letter to George, Bowman wrote that it was his "fondest wish to remain a priest until my dying day." Bowman got his wish. In spite of all the findings, Bowman was not laicized, meaning he remained a priest until his death in April 2011.

The 15-year saga of John Calicott finally ended in 2009 when he was laicized and ousted from the priesthood. The move capped a highly publicized journey that began in 1994, when Calicott was first accused of sexually abusing two boys nearly two decades earlier when he was at St. Ailbe's Parish.

Bernardin, the cardinal at the time, placed Calicott on administrative leave from Holy Angels Church. Calicott's abrupt removal, just after Easter Sunday, sparked a backlash among parishioners, many of them black, who accused Bernardin of racism and protested outside the cardinal's residence.

A year later, after he learned church review board members opposed his return to ministry, Calicott threatened that his supporters would follow him. "All I'm gonna tell you is it's gonna blow — these people are ready," documents quote Calicott as saying. "I will rot before I kiss their white (expletive) — I tried to cooperate." Not exactly a Christ-like response; but then, what would you expect?

The review board and Bernardin, then battling cancer, were ultimately swayed and reinstated Calicott later in late 1995.

For the next nearly seven years, Calicott served at Holy Angels, despite complaints that he was too involved with a church Boy Scouts troop.

After the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted a zero-tolerance policy for child abuse, Calicott was pulled from ministry for the second time, in June 2002. Still, he often returned to his parish and was even discovered teaching sex education at Holy Angels in 2004.

It was then that David Lasley went public with allegations of abuse. Lasley had kept boyhood diaries as well as letters he said Calicott had written to him decades earlier. Lasley had supported Calicott's return to ministry but he now was no longer convinced the archdiocese was fulfilling its promise to monitor the priest.

In an effort to return to his ministry, Calicott went through a church trial in 2008 and, according to archdiocese records, was found guilty of sexual abuse of minors. He was laicized the following year. Four men have accused Calicott, now 67, of abuse that dates to the mid-1970s, the files show.

The files have references to Calicott admitting misconduct, but he later insisted he never confessed. He could not be reached for comment for this story.

Lasley, on Tuesday, said he had read about one-quarter of Calicott's 2,400-page file. Lasley, a computer consultant, said the archdiocese should not have blacked out or summarized specifics of his allegations.

"In my opinion the most important thing is the truth," Lasley said. "From what I've seen so far, not all the truth is there."

And in my opinion, it's revolting that not one of those 3 pervert priests spent a moment in jail. In fact, I doubt that many, if any, of the 36 priests in this report spent a moment in jail. Oh well, their day will come.

American Pervert Round-up #7

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (WISH) –  A former Frankfort middle school principal was sentenced to a minimum of five years for his role in a multi-state child sex abuse case.

Michael Ettenberger was charged, along with former PTO President Jill Miller, of Clarklake, Michigan, for participating in online solicitation of child sexually abusive material in December of 2013.

Ettenberger was the principal at Frankfort Middle School when the felony charges came out against him out of Jackson, Michigan. He resigned from the school system in June 2013.

At the time, the superintendent said detectives told him Ettenberger’s home computer was connected with an internet porn case, but there wasn’t anything on his school-issued electronic devices.

Ettenberger was found guilty by a Michigan jury on four sex-related counts back in September.

Officials said Ettenberger received the following sentence for each count, to be held concurrent:

Criminal Sexual Conduct 2nd Degree – 5 years minimum to 15 years maximum
Child Sexually Abusive Activity – 5 years minimum to 20 years maximum
Using a computer to communicate with another to commit a crime – 5 years min to 20 years max
Possession of Child Sexually Abusive Material – 1 year minimum to 4 years maximum

Officials said Michigan’s system sets sentencing years at a range. Ettenberger will serve the sentence in the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Miller pleaded guilty to Criminal Sexual Conduct, Child Sexually Abusive Activity and Using the Internet/Computer to Communicate with Another to Commit a Crime. She was sentenced to six to 20 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections in January 2014.


MUSKEGON, Michigan (WZZM) -- Michigan State Police are investigating a Muskegon County man who may have molested five to 10 boys he meet through his position as a volunteer church youth leader.

Detectives began investigating Randall Doctor, 60, in August after a man, who is now in his 40s, reported the alleged sexual abuse. The man told detectives he was in his teens at the time.

Doctor was a volunteer youth leader at a church police have not yet identified. He has not been affiliated with the church for 25 years.

When investigators searched Doctors' Muskegon area home looking for possible evidence of the sexual assault, they found a marijuana grow operation. Friday morning Doctor was in court for a hearing on the manufacturing marijuana charge. He has not been charged with sexual assault.

The Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office is waiting for full police reports from MSP detectives on the alleged sexual assault before deciding if Doctor will face additional criminal charges. He is being held in the Muskegon County Jail.

Detectives believe other teens affiliated with the church where Doctor volunteered may have be molested in the 1970s and 1980s. They ask anyone with information to call Michigan State Police Rockford Post at (616) 866-4411.


CHICAGO, Illinois. Cardinal Francis George on Thursday said  the public release of the internal files of 36 priests accused of sexually abusing children shows the church’s “commitment to transparency” in one of the most disturbing chapters in the Roman Catholic Church’s history.

A list of the 36 priests accused

In a statement on the church’s website announcing the release of some 15,000 pages of once-secret documents, George said the Archdiocese of Chicago was “concerned first and foremost with bringing healing to abuse victims.”

“We cannot change the past but we hope we can rebuild trust through honest and open dialogue,” George said. “Child abuse is a crime and a sin.”

Cardinal Francis George

The release of the  priest files is one of George’s last acts as he prepares for retirement in less than two weeks and is part of an effort by the archdiocese to put the long-running scandal behind it.

Together with documents on more than two dozen priests released in January, the new files represent the archdiocese’s fullest public accounting of 63 of its priests who church officials found abused 352 children since 1950. The archdiocese has paid about $130 million to settle claims by victims, money raised largely through borrowing and selling church land.

The January files, made public as part of a settlement with victims, provided fresh details into how, for decades, the nation’s third-largest archdiocese quietly transferred accused priests from parish to parish, and how church officials failed to tell law enforcement about accusations that priests had sexually abused boys and girls.

The new files reflect the archdiocese’s continuing commitment to truth and accountability, said Bishop Francis Kane, the archdiocese’s vicar general, who said he was “still shocked and certainly ashamed” by the abuse.

“As we look at these documents, it’s a horrible thing and I don’t think that most priests had any idea these other men were doing this terrible thing,” Kane told the Tribune’s Editorial Board last week.

But Peggy Hough, of Evanston, who said the priest at her church in Glenview had abused her in the 1960s, said the archdiocese is not doing enough to make right decades of wrongdoing by priests and secrecy by top officials.

Hough said she was abused by the Rev. Eugene Burns beginning when she was 8 years old and he was pastor at St. Catherine Laboure Catholic Church. Burns died in 2005, and Hough received a settlement from the archdiocese.

“The archdiocese is behaving as if this is such a great thing they are doing and (Cardinal) George’s legacy,” said Hough, 60. “But my question is, what took so long? Their secrecy has allowed this to perpetuate as long as it has and for more kids to be abused.”

With the release of the new documents, the archdiocese anticipated more victims coming forward. After the files were made public in January, about 60 people came forward with accusations of abuse, said Jan Slattery, director of the archdiocese’s office for the protection of children and youth.

Slattery said those accusations involved priests already removed from ministry based on previous allegations, and that the church was continuing to look into those accusations.

Among the 36 priests identified as part of Thursday’s scheduled document release, none is in active ministry and nine have been laicized, meaning they are no longer priests. Fourteen have died.

The files total do not include medical or mental health records, information protected by attorney-client privilege or that identifies victims or independent witnesses, church officials said.

The church has now released files on 63 priests credibly accused of sexually abusing children. The church deems an accusation credible if there is “reasonable cause” to believe the abuse occurred. In addition, the January documents included the files of three priests named in lawsuits but for whom allegations were never substantiated or published previously by the archdiocese.

Daniel McCormack

The archdiocese did not release files of two priests. Convicted abuser Daniel McCormack’s files have been sealed by a judge as part of a lawsuit. The files of the Rev. Edward Maloney, who has been removed from public ministry, have not been released because his case is on appeal within the church.

George has admitted mishandling McCormack’s case. Police arrested McCormack in 2005 after a 10-year-old boy said the priest had fondled him. Police found the boy believable but released McCormack after a church official told the priest not to answer questions.

Outside auditors who examined the McCormack case in 2006 criticized how church officials responded to the abuse accusations, saying there were multiple failures, ranging from profound lack of communication to inadequate monitoring policies that put children in danger.

“For the many missteps in responding to accusations of sexual abuse of minors by Father McCormack, I must accept responsibility, and I do so,” George said in response.

Church authorities said 98 percent of all the known accusations stem from abuse that occurred before 1992, when then-Cardinal Joseph Bernardin enacted reforms that became a model for dioceses across the country.

John Calicott

As church officials have across the country, Chicago archdiocesan officials said they have learned from past mistakes. They said they have become more knowledgeable about how to respond to allegations of child sex abuse, that they have educated children and adults to recognize the signs of abuse and to report it, and they note that no priest with a credible allegation of abuse is in active ministry.

“We’ve been working hard on this for a long time,” said John O’Malley, the archdiocese’s special counsel for misconduct. “Please challenge the advocates who say nothing has changed and everything is bad.”

One of the priests included in the new release is John Calicott, the former pastor of Holy Angels Roman Catholic Church in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. In a brief telephone interview Tuesday, Calicott, who was accused of molesting boys in the 1970s, denied abusing anyone, though in the past he has said publicly that he made mistakes. He said he prefers that the files remain closed.

“Some of us tried to fight (the release of documents), but there’s not much we can do,” said Calicott, now 67 and who was laicized in 2009. “(The archdiocese is) going to do what they want to do. This was just so long ago. I’m retired and just trying to go on with my life.”

US Pervert Round-up and Big Kiddie-Porn Ring Busted

PHOENIX, Arizona -- A 52-year-old Phoenix man was arrested Tuesday after authorities reportedly found thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography inside his home.

Detectives from the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force identified that child pornography was being distributed from a residence in the area of 44th Street and McDowell Road, according to the Phoenix Police Department.

They served a search warrant on the home and interviewed Keith Greg Carlson, who lives there with his brother, according to court documents.

Police said Carlson admitted to possessing thousands of images and videos depicting female children between the ages of 7 and 12 being sexually abused.


HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - May 2014 - Prosecutors today released disturbing allegations against the Guntersville High School volunteer soccer coach charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse.

According to court records, David Barrow has been charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old and two counts of human trafficking. He was originally charged with three counts of sexual abuse and one count of human trafficking when police announced his arrest on May 9.

Court records made public this afternoon outline the specific complaints against Barrow, who has been suspended from his volunteer position at Guntersville High School.

On the sexual abuse charges, the criminal complaint states that Barrow made nude photographs of a female child and touched her chest and genitals with his hands.

On the human trafficking charges, the criminal complaint states that Barrow did "knowingly, obtain, recruit, entice, solicit, induce, threaten, isolate, harbor, hold, restrain, transport, provide or maintain" one and/or two girls "for the purpose of causing them to engage in sexual servitude."

Barrow also paid to have the two female girls transported to a residence on Craigmont Drive less than a half-mile from Chaffee Elementary School in south Huntsville, according to the complaint.

Oct 28, 2014 -  More charges added - David Jacobs Barrow, the former volunteer soccer coach at Guntersville High has been charged in two counties with child pornography. Barrow remains in jail in Marshall County facing 27 counts of producing child pornography and related charges. He is also facing seven counts of child sex abuse, human trafficking and sodomy in Madison County.


LOUISVILLE, Kentucky. (WHAS11) -- An Oldham County man is facing charges of possessing and distributing child pornography.

According to court records, authorities seized computers from inside the home of 53-year-old Donald Jones.

Police said they believe the computers contain files depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Jones is behind held at the Oldham County Jail.


DARDANELLE, Arkansas – A Dardanelle man was arrested in a child pornography case on Tuesday (Oct. 28), according to a news release from Attorney General Dustin McDaniel.

Ronnie Ponder, 28, was arrested on suspicion of possession of child pornography and booked into the Yell County Jail. He faces 30 counts of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, the release states.

Agents with the attorney general’s Cyber Crimes Unit executed a search warrant at Ponder’s home in the 100 block of Maple Street in Dardanelle on Tuesday. They confiscated a desktop computer, a laptop, an external hard drive, a cell phone, a flash drive and other electronic evidence, according to the release.

Special Agent Chad Meli started the investigation after suspecting that Ponder possessed child porn at his residence, according to the release.

Ponder is being held on a $100,000 bond, according to the release.


BOLINGBROOK, Illinois - Bolingbrook is a Chicago suburb. Police say a man sexually abused a teenage girl for five years.

Daniel Hillsman, 58, was arrested Tuesday on charges of predatory criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual abuse and child pornography....


JOLIET TOWNSHIP, Illinois – A 37-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday on charges related to what police allege is an inappropriate relationship with a minor.

Unnamed woman

Will County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Ken Kaupas said the investigation began last week after a relative of the victim, a 15-year-old boy whom the woman facing charges knows, contacted police....


COLUMBIA, Missouri — Columbia resident Jarrod D. Hoffman, 41, was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison for the possession of child pornography.

In August 2013, the Boone County Sheriff's Department Cyber Crimes Task Force traced child pornography to a home computer in the Columbia area. A search warrant was served to a resident on Alpine Drive, leading to the discovery of more than 30 videos depicting the sexual molestation of children, according to a news release from the Boone County Sheriff's Department.

Detective Tracy Perkins said based on information from the seized electronics, Hoffman was identified as a suspect. On Nov. 22, 2013, Hoffman was charged with possession of child pornography and later arrested on Nov. 26, 2013.

Hoffman will participate in a four-month sex offenders program during his incarceration, Perkins said.


MISSOULA - The Montana U.S. Attorney's Office has announced that 11 men have been sentenced for their role in an international child pornography network which was targeted by investigators and prosecutors participating in Operation Kingdom Conqueror.

The multi-agency, multi-national effort targeted an online bulletin board advertising and exchanging images of child pornography, according to a news release.

All of the defendants were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy of Missoula.

One of the 11 is Paul Wencewicz, 48, of Polson, who was sentenced in connection with his March 2014 guilty plea.

Wencewicz was given 220 months in prison, lifetime supervise release, and $29,859 restitution. Wencewicz also must forfeit his computer and storage devices.

Two additional defendants, Joshua Peterson, 45, of Prescott, Arizona, and Steven Grovo, 35, of Shirley, Massachusetts, were found guilty of participating in a child exploitation enterprise and a conspiracy to advertise child pornography after a trial on Oct. 9.

Prosecutors state that in November 2009 an early participant in the conspiracy designed and created a web-based bulletin board which allowed the board members to share in their common interest in exchanging files online which contained child pornography and non-child pornography images depicting young girls.

Between Nov. 6, 2009, through March 19, 2012, members of the conspiracy used the online bulletin board to share pictures and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to prosecutors.

During that same time, the participants agreed to use the online bulletin board to publish or print notices or advertisements soliciting additional images of child pornography which they would then share and broadcast on the Internet.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Montana Department of Criminal Investigations, the Helena and Polson police departments, the United States Department of Justice - Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Homeland Security Investigations, the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the States of Jersey Police Department, Isle of Jersey, near the United Kingdom all took part in the operation.

U.S. Attorney for Montana Mike Cotter called the sentences "a major victory in the fight against child exploitation. Pedophiles who savage our children through pornography, coercion and exploitation are on notice that when they are caught-and they will be caught-the consequences are dire and law enforcement's tolerance for these crimes non-existent."

Below is a list of the remaining defendants in the case who were recently sentenced in Missoula.

- Tony Bronson, a 53-year-old resident of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced on October 28, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Bronson was sentenced to 224 months in prison, 10 years supervised release and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Bronson must forfeit his computers and storage devices.

- Charles Crosby, a 43-year-old resident of Trenton, New Jersey, was sentenced on October 23, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Crosby was sentenced to 210 months in prison, lifetime supervised release and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Crosby must forfeit his computers and storage devices.

- Steve Humiston, a 57-year-old resident of Tacoma, Washington, was sentenced on October 23, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Humiston received 210 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, $29,859 restitution and a $5,000 fine. In addition, Humiston must forfeit his computers and storage devices.

- John Johnson, a 58-year-old resident of Locust Grove, Virginia, was sentenced on October 22, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Johnson received 180 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Johnson must forfeit his computer and storage device.

- Robert Krise, a 66-year-old resident of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was sentenced on October 22, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Krise received 180 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Krise must forfeit his computers and hard drives.

- Scott Long, a 53-year-old resident of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced on October 21, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Long received 200 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Long must forfeit his computer and storage device.

- Ian Nosek, a 42-year-old resident of Charlottesville, Virginia, was sentenced on October 23, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Nosek received 216 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Nosek must forfeit his camera and storage devices.

- Phillip Morris, 42-year-old resident of Jeffersonville, Indiana was sentenced on October 22, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Morris received 216 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Morris must forfeit his storage devices and cell phone.

- Joseph Purificato, a 23-year-old resident of Mount Vernon, Missouri was sentenced on October 28, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Purificato received 180 months in prison, 10 years supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Purificato must forfeit his computers and thumb drive.

- Jeffrey Woolley, a 53-year-old resident of Nicholasville, Kentucky, was sentenced on October 28, 2014 in connection with his April 2014 plea to guilty. Woolley received 180 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and $29,859 restitution. In addition, Woolley must forfeit his computer and storage devices.

Inmate Serving Sentence for Child Sex Abuse Dies

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A man serving 13 years in prison for sexually abusing a child and owning child pornography in Lake and Cook counties died Sunday morning in Chicago.

Philip Helfand, 62, an inmate at Dixon Correctional Center, died at University of Illinois Hospital at 10:14 a.m., the Cook County medical examiner's office said.

Helfand died while under secure IDOC guard in a hospital after a “long illness,” according to Tom Shaer, Dept. of Corrections spokesman.

An autopsy conducted by the Cook County medical examiner's office Monday indicated Helfand died from complications of “Group G Streptococcus sepsis,” cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, diabetes and morbid obesity. He died from natural causes, the medical examiner's office said.

In May 2006, Helfand, who previously lived in Park Ridge, was convicted in Lake County of aggravated criminal sexual abuse to a person younger than 13, and possessing child pornography, according to the IDOC website.

During a May 2006 investigation, Park Ridge police found thousands of pornographic images of children in Helfand's home, including photos of a 9-year-old Lake Zurich girl he admitted abusing, Pioneer Press reported.

Police searched his home in the 2200 block of Parkside Drive on May 11, 2006 after reports of “unauthorized videotaping,” police said.

Helfand was arrested and charged for unauthorized videotaping after the search yielded 3,800 known images of child pornography and more than 13,000 “suspect images” of child pornography.

A Cook County judge found him guilty of having child pornography in March 2007, court records show.

American Pervert Round-up #6

Hazen, North Dakota man pleads guilty to child sex abuse

A Hazen man pleaded guilty in South Central District Court on Thursday to continuous sexual abuse of a child.

Kevin Hushka, 35, pleaded guilty to the Class AA felony at the Morton County Courthouse.

Judge Sonna Anderson accepted his plea and set his sentencing hearing for a future date.

Class AA felonies carry a maximum potential sentence of life in prison, though the charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child carries no minimum mandatory sentence.

Hushka will be required to register as a sex offender as part of his sentence.

Between 2005 and 2007, Hushka sexually abused a girl younger than 15 years old, according to court records.


Aberdeen, Maryland man, 21, gets prison for child sex abuse

BALTIMORE —An Aberdeen man has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison for having sexual contact with two boys at a Virginia military installation and for having child pornography.

A judge on Thursday sentenced Marcus Smith, 21, to 12 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to charges of possession of child pornography and abusive sexual contact.

According to the plea agreement, Smith had been suspected of committing sexual assaults at Fort Lee in Virginia in the summer of 2011. Smith was interviewed by the FBI, and his home was searched.

Aberdeen, MD

Investigators discovered that Smith restrained and inappropriately touched a 9-year-old boy at a home on Fort Lee in June of that year.

The investigation also showed that from July 2009 to June 2011, Smith had sexual contact on more than one occasion with another child, who was between the ages of 8 and 10 during the abuse.

Officials said the FBI also learned during the summer of 2012 that Smith had child pornography in his possession. A search of his home at that time revealed that he had child porn, which included images of boys engaged in sexual acts, on his cellphone, prosecutors said.

Smith will be required to serve 25 years of probation when his 12 years in prison is finished, and he'll have to register as a sex offender.

"This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse," the U.S. Attorney's office said in a statement. "Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Justice Department's Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and also to identify and rescue victims."


Man charged with child sex abuse in Lake Luzerne


LAKE LUZERNE, (upper state) New York -- A former Lake Luzerne man was arrested this week for allegedly sexually abusing an 8-year-old child, police said.

Bradley S Swart

Bradley S. Swart, 58, was charged with first-degree sexual abuse, a felony, after an investigation by the Warren County Sheriff's Office, the agency said in a press release.

Police said he had sexual contact with the child while staying in a home in Lake Luzerne earlier this year. He is acquainted with the child's family.

Swart has since moved to Gloversville, where police located him this week.

He was arraigned and sent to Warren County Jail without bail. No bail was set because he has a lengthy criminal history, police said.

Included is a misdemeanor child sex abuse conviction in Gloversville in 1989. That occurred before the state's sex offender registry law took effect, so he is not a registered sex offender.


Ex-sheriff's deputy gets 50 years in child sex abuse case

A former McHenry County sheriff’s deputy who had investigated online sex crimes was sentenced to 50 years in prison Wednesday for the repeated sexual abuse of a child.

McHenry County is just northwest of Chicago, Illinois.

Gregory Pyle, who pled guilty in January to crossing a state line to engage in a sexual act with child under the age of 12, told the judge that he “couldn’t be more sorry for my actions. I hope that one day I’ll be free again.”

But that did little to sway U.S. District Judge Frederick Kapala, who called Pyle’s actions “heinous and despicable.”

“He took a young, helpless child” who should have been able trust Pyle and “he perverted the entire situation,” the judge said.

The victim’s mother also addressed the judge in federal court in Rockford Wednesday. She said her son is now angry and depressed and has been hospitalized twice for suicidal thoughts.

Pyle “never thought for one moment what he was doing to that little boy,” the woman said. “...I want you to remember my son's childhood is gone.”

Pyle, 39, formerly of Crystal Lake, dropped his head and appeared to wipe tears away as the woman spoke.

Gregory Pyle

In seeking a sentence of 35 years, Pyle’s attorney noted his military and law enforcement background. He cited a letter from 2002, written by a military superior who described Pyle’s “good character.”

But Kapala said that while Pyle lived a seemingly law-abiding life as a police officer, he “was a horrible person who did despicable things.”

The fact that Pyle has “accepted responsibility” and shows remorse had little impact on the sentence, the judge said.

Prosecutors had alleged that Pyle shot video of the sexual abuse and shared it with others online. A charge of producing child pornography was dropped in exchange for Pyle’s guilty plea.

But as he sentenced Pyle, the judge also noted Pyle’s actions after he got caught, when he allegedly hid and destroyed evidence.

Pyle, who had worked on the state Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, used “heavy encryption” to hide the files on his personal computer and later threw a computer into a pond to hide evidence, Kapala said.

Pyle will serve his time in a federal prison outside of Illinois, where he is to receive sex offender counseling. He will serve 85 percent of the sentence and, if he is released, will be on mandatory supervision for life.

Pyle was arrested after a federal search of a downstate man’s computer found online aliases that investigators traced to Pyle.

Later, investigators interviewed a boy who told them Pyle had abused him over multiple years, both at Pyle’s home and at a hotel in Wisconsin in 2008.

Pyle was fired from the sheriff’s department following his arrest. He still faces a charge of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in McHenry County.

McHenry County Undersheriff Andrew Zinke said Wednesday “I don’t think 50 years is enough, it’s a devastating occurrence when monsters are hiding right in front of you.”


Fort Rucker, Alabama counselor arrested on child sex abuse charges


ENTERPRISE, AL (WSFA) -

David Dunn

A counselor who works at Fort Rucker is charged with sexual abuse of a child under than age of 12. Authorities with the Enterprise Police Department say David Dunn was taken into custody Monday.

Enterprise P.D. spokesman Sgt. Billy Haglund says Dunn is listed as a Licensed Practical Counselor (LPC) at Fort Rucker, though the arrest report lists him as a psychologist.

Sgt. Haglund said no additional information regarding the case will be released due to the ongoing investigation.

Fort Rucker, AL

A Nigerian Horror Story With No End in Sight - The Grannies on Safari

Regina Fraser and Pat Johnson
The Grannies on Safari
Huffington Post

In the early evening of April 14, 2014 at a secondary school in the serene village of Chibok in Eastern Nigeria, all hell broke loose. As students were finishing final exams in their one story school, the balmy twilight silence of the enclave was shattered by the rat-a-tat of gunfire and roar of truck engines. The sounds were terrifyingly loud and the voices that called out to them sounded like gruff sirens from hell.

A gang of Jihadists known as Boko Haram (defined as "western education is a sin") swarmed the building wielding AK 47s, and demanding that all the girls climb into trucks or be killed. About 50 girls managed to escape into the bush, but the others, crying and screaming, did as ordered.

In a matter of minutes those who escaped were scurrying into the woods and running as they held their skirts above their ankles fleeing like breathelss young antelopes into the looming darkness with the moon providing the only illumination for the path into the village and safety. When they finally arrived in the village, in terrified voices, they reported to neighbors the horror of what they had just experienced.

Most of the girls are believed to be Christians - Chibok is a predominantly Christian village.

Goodluck Jonathon
Labeled 'incompetent' by the Economist
I think that's being overly kind

Word of the horrific kidnapping quickly spread. It summarily arrived in the Capitol, Abuja, and within days to the West through multiple media outlets. It took however, two weeks before President Goodluck Jonathan offered any comments about the ghastly attack. And another couple of weeks before he proffered any government action. His matter of fact demeanor on both occasions presented no sense of urgency or resolves to find the girls or the perpetrators of the terrorist attack.

It has now been nearly four months since the kidnapping. My captured sisters are still hidden by Boko Haram in locations that could be as far away as Chad and Cameroon or as near as the Sambisa Forest several kilometers to the north. The purported leader of Boko Haram has issued a couple of videos offering to exchange the girls for release of some of his cohorts. This was declined by the Nigerian state.

Screen-capture from video by Boko Haram of about half the abducted girls

The United States offered assistance in locating the girls and the Nigerian military has indicated they know where the girls are being held. But no deals have been made, no surreptitious capture plans have been leaked, and President Jonathan has remained amazingly quiet about his next moves.

Similar heart breaking attacks on schools and homes in towns and villages across Eastern Nigeria have played out over the last three years reportedly killing thousands. On July 22, Boko Haram attacked another village killing at least 51 people. The killing and mayhem goes on.

On 5 May, at least 300 residents of the nearby town of Gamboru Ngala were killed in an attack by Boko Haram militants after Nigerian security forces had left the town to search for the kidnapped students. 

On 30 May it was reported that a civilian militia in the Baale region of Northeastern Nigeria found two of the kidnapped girls raped, "half-dead," and tied to a tree. Villagers said the Boko Haram group had left the two girls, killed four other disobedient girls and buried them. 223 were still missing.

Wikipedia

It should be noted that anything said by the media in Nigeria, the militia, the military or the government should be taken with a large sprinkling of salt. Truth is not highly esteemed it appears.

I'm beginning to suspect that Jonathon, himself, may be involved in the kidnapping in order to deflect attention away from the $19 Billion of oil revenues that disappeared in the first few months of 2014.

Also, it's a remarkable coincidence that the Nigerian military refused to respond to the 4 hour notification they had of the raid on Chibok; and their pulling out of Gamboru Ngala just before Boko Haram massacred 300+ people there. I'm sure they are coincidences, it's just that I have such low regard for Jonathon and his government that I would put nothing past them.

The Economist has labeled President Jonathan "as incompetent." That's the strongest "outrage" I've read about a leader who appears to be, as the saying goes "fiddling while Rome burns." Many people, including me, have participated in demonstrations in Chicago and globally calling out "Bring Back Our Girls."

#BringBackOurGirls rally in Chicago

Perhaps this refrain has not been loud enough. Or maybe we should ask, "does the Nigerian Government care?" I only wish I had been in Washington last week to ask President Jonathan that question.

R. Kelly, Teflon Supermusician, Child Sex Abuse Laws Don't Stick

Back in 2002, a sex tape surfaced featuring R. Kelly and an underage girl; however, it took more than six years to get him into court on charges of child pornography and then it only took a few hours for a jury to declare him not guilty of all 14 counts. His high-powered defense team managed to convince the jury that the identity of the girl was not conclusive even though more than a dozen witnesses for the prosecution had identified her.

Robert Kelly is a very successful R&B singer/songwriter and music producer. Billboard called him the most successful R&B artist in the past 25 years. The Grammy winning star has sold 100 million records worldwide.

He has had several run-ins with the law beginning with his first marriage in 1994 to a 15 year old girl who lied on the marriage certificate.

After a July 1996 brawl at a Lafayette, Louisiana health club involving Kelly and his entourage, Kelly was placed on a year's unsupervised probation starting August 13, 1997, after being found guilty of battery. One of the victims, Christopher Mahoney, needed 110 facial stitches.

Also that year, 20-year-old Tiffany Hawkins sued Kelly for $10 million and accused him of having sexual relations with her when he was 24 and she 15. Kelly settled the lawsuit in 1998 for $250,000, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

On April 8, 1998, Kelly was arrested on three misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, including one charge on violating noise ordinance for playing his own music extremely loud from his car while singing along. All charges were later dropped.

On February 3, 2002, a video surfaced allegedly showing Kelly engaging in sex with, and urinating on, an underage girl. (This is the story reported at the top of the page). The story, which was released by an unknown source, was sent to the Chicago Sun-Times, the newspaper that broke the story on February 8, 2002.

This news surfaced as Kelly was to perform at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics. In interviews with WMAQ television of Chicago and MTV News, Kelly said that he was not the man in the video. In June 2002, Kelly was indicted in Chicago on 21 counts of having sex with a minor, which were later reduced to soliciting a minor for child pornography, seven counts of videotaping the acts, and seven counts of producing child pornography.

That same month, authorities searched Kelly's house in Davenport, Florida. During the search officers also obtained pictures of an allegedly underage woman on a digital camera – wrapped in a towel in a duffel bag.!??? Kelly was arrested in January 2003 on those charges. In March 2004, these charges were dropped due to a lack of probable cause for the search warrants.

After a number of delays, on October 27, 2006, a Cook County, Illinois court hearing for pre-trial motions set the date of the actual trial to February 7, 2007. On the date of the trial, Kelly's lawyer informed the court that his client was unable to attend because he was "undergoing surgery for a burst appendix". He also announced that Kelly was "in good condition and was expected to be released from the hospital later in the day." Kelly's attorney stated that Kelly (who pleaded not guilty) would be in attendance on the next trial date of February 21, 2007.

It had previously been announced by the court that the videotape that allegedly showed Kelly performing sex acts with an underage woman would be publicly shown as evidence in the trial. The trial, however, was delayed due to disputes over when the tape was made and to give medical recuperation time to the sitting judge following a fall resulting in broken bones. Later the case was set for a September 17 date. It took more than six months for the case to go to trial.

Jury selection began on May 9, 2008, and the trial officially started on May 20 with opening statements from the prosecution and defense. After two weeks, the prosecution's case wrapped on June 3 while the defense's wrapped six days later, on June 9. After less than a day of deliberations, on June 13, 2008, a Chicago jury found Kelly not guilty of all 14 counts.

No wonder Kelly has no regard for the law, with his money he is not accountable to the law.

The moral of the story is - if you've got enough money you can find lots of lawyers without any conscience willing to take it.

He won't have any of those guys with him when he stands before the glorified Christ!