Priest accused of molesting boy after dressing him up like Jesus

A former DuPage County priest already facing sexual abuse charges molested a teenage boy after dressing him like Jesus Christ and taking his picture, an attorney for the victim said Wednesday.

The Rev. Fred Lenczycki abused the teen “on a regular and repeated basis” between 1980 and 1983, when Lenczycki was a priest at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church in Hinsdale, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in DuPage County civil court.

The eight-count lawsuit also accuses the Diocese of Joliet and Bishop Joseph L. Imesch of covering up widespread clergy abuse and creating an environment that taught parishioners that “good” Catholics didn’t report misconduct.

Attorneys for the victim, who is now in his 30s and lives in rural Illinois, are seeking more than $50,000 in damages per count.

In a statement, attorney Marc Pearlman said that on about a dozen occasions, Lenczycki of Glen Ellyn dressed the teen – then 14 to 17 years old – in robes to make him look like Christ. He took photos before abusing him, Pearlman stated.

The victim didn’t report the abuse at the time because he had been brought up to believe priests wouldn’t engage in criminal behavior and that he “was somehow the guilty party,” the lawsuit states.

He came forward recently after hearing other reports of clergy abuse, Pearlman said.

Lenczycki’s defense attorney could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Lenczycki, who has been suspended from his duties since April 2002, is scheduled to go to trial in DuPage County next month on charges he abused three former altar boys at the St. Isaac in 1984, when the boys were 12.

The Joliet diocese transferred Lenczycki to a church in Missouri in 1985 after the parents of one of the boys complained. Lenczycki was given counseling but the church never notified authorities.

At the time, prosecutors have said, the complaints only involved voyeuristic conduct.

John Cullen, a spokesman for the diocese, has defended the way the case was handled, saying decisions were made based on the information church leaders had at the time.

Imesch, who was installed as bishop in 1979, didn’t know the full extent of the allegations at the time they were made, Cullen has said.

Cullen could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Read Another Article

Hindu sect ready to build temple
Hamas chief Yassin rejects coexistence with Israel

Related News Articles Topic(s): Catholic Church Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Catholic Church Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog