Chicago Injury Attorney Blog

A $1.2 million civil settlement was paid to a man who sued Catholic Diocese of Belleville for clergy sex abuse. The plaintiff had accused Rev. Raymond Kownacki of molesting him when he was an altar boy at a parish in Salem, Illinois.

This is the first time since the early 90’s that the Belleville Diocese has paid to settle a clergy sex abuse victim’s injury case.

The plaintiff’s Illinois sex abuse lawsuit is not the only one naming Rev. Raymond Kownacki as the molester. Last year, a jury awarded Champaign resident James Wisniewski, who also accused Kownacki of molesting him, $5 million. Evidence that church officials knew the priest was molesting boys and girls during the 70’s and ‘80’s but did nothing to protect the public was presented during the civil trial.

The two plaintiffs were able to successfully argue that they were entitled to sue for Illinois child sex abuse even though the statute of limitations had expired. For them, the statute didn’t start running until when they realized that the molestation had psychologically damaged them.

A recent decision by the Illinois Supreme Court about the statute of limitations now virtually prevents sex abuse victims born before January 1, 1964 from suing over the abuse. On September 24, the court ruled that adult survivors of child sex abuse who became aware before 2001 of the trauma they suffered should have filed their complaints prior to 2003. A new amendment that year gave victims either 5 years after they realized they were abused or until they turned 28 to sue for sex abuse.

Sexual Abuse
The damages resulting from being a victim of sex abuse are often invisible to the naked eyes of others. However, for the victims, the emotional and psychological and sexual traumas they suffer from the molestation, sexual assault, or rape can last a lifetime.

Diocese pays $1.2 million to former altar boy to settle sex abuse lawsuit, BND, October 23, 2009

Illinois Supreme Court rules on sex-abuse statute of limitations, CatholicNewWorld, October 11, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Catholic Diocese of Belleville

Abuse in the Catholic Church, The Boston Globe