Man Sues Priest, Alleges Abuse 20 Years Ago In Hinsdale
Jul 30, 2004 | Chicago Sun Times A Roman Catholic priest imprisoned for molesting boys at a Hinsdale parish 20 years ago was sued Thursday by a former member of the parish, who said the priest fondled him when he was 13.The lawsuit alleges the Rev. Frederick Lenczycki, most recently a priest with the Archdiocese of St. Louis before his January conviction in DuPage County on sex-abuse charges, fondled and poured holy water on the naked body of the alleged victim, who asked not to be named, in 1983.
At that time, the plaintiff was an eighth-grader at St. Isaac Jogues in Hinsdale, part of the Diocese of Joliet, and he did not report the allegation. He is now 34.
The diocese and its bishop, Joseph Imesch, also are named in the suit, which cites their failure to report Lenczycki after other complaints of sexual abuse about him first surfaced in 1984.
That year, Lenczycki, who is serving a five-year prison sentence, took a three-year leave of absence before being transferred to parishes in California and Missouri, said the plaintiff's lawyer.
The plaintiff, of DuPage County, said he started having nightmares about the incident when he sent his daughter to a Catholic school last year.
