For Immediate Release:
September 20, 2007

For More Information:
Attorney Stephen M. Dicker 312 853 3485
Barbara Blaine, SNAP president 312 399 4747
David Clohessy, SNAP National Director (314) 566-9790 cellames and phones

Victim settles with Archdiocese for $1.65 million

Still a child, he was molested recently by Fr. McCormack

It's the first of several civil lawsuits against Archdiocese to be resolved

Church officials ignored clear abuse reports & kept predator in ministry

WHAT
The first of several child molestation lawsuits against Chicago's most notorious pedophile priest has been settled and will be disclosed and discussed at a news conference.

WHEN
TODAY, Thursday, Sept. 20, 1:30 p.m.

WHERE
At the law office of Steven Dicker 300 W. Adams, Suite 330 (corner of Franklin & Adams) in downtown Chicago

WHO
The attorney who represents the young victim and 1 or 2 members of a support group called SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) including the organization's founder and president

WHY
Following months of negotiations, a now 15-year old West Side boy and his family will receive $1.65 million for the repeated sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of an archdiocesan priest, Fr. Daniel McCormack. The crimes took place between 2001 and 2005 at St Agatha Parish where the boy attended parochial school.

On July 2, McCormack pled guilty to child molestation. Prosecutors say he assaulted one 11 year old boy "on an almost daily basis" from Sept. 2005 until Jan. 2006. Cardinal Frances George kept McCormack in ministry for years despite several reports of child sexual abuse, including repeated written and verbal ones from a Catholic nun seven years ago to archdiocesan staff.

Last year in an unrelated incest case, Dicker won a $2 million settlement on behalf of a young victim.