Belleville, IL, Diocese Appeals $5 Million Dollar Verdict While Two More Illinois Sexual Abuse Victims Come Forward
The Belleville Catholic Diocese filed notice last Wednesday that they would appeal a $5 million dollar verdict awarded to a former altar boy after years of clergy sexual abuse. The victim, 47-year-old James Wisniewski of Champaign, was sexually abused multiple times over a five-year period beginning in 1973 at St. Teresa’s Church in Eastern Illinois. Wisniewski was successful last August in obtaining a $5 million dollar verdict against the Belleville Diocese as a jury determined that the diocese actively concealed the fact that Rev. Raymond Kownacki was a child molester. Wisniewski was awarded $2.4 million dollars in compensatory damages and $2.6 million dollars in punitive damages for the harms he suffered at the hands of Kownacki. Meanwhile two more men have come forward claiming Kownacki sexually abused them as minors. The total number of victims to officially allege sexual abuse now numbers four including Wisniewski and a John Doe plaintiff currently awaiting trial.
The verdict against the Diocese is the result of a trial in which Kownacki’s pattern of abuse was revealed to jurors. At the conclusion of the eight-day trial, jury members determined that the Diocese was aware of Kownacki’s abusive tendencies as early as 1973 yet high ranking officials continually transferred him to different parishes. Perhaps the most disturbing testimony came from former vicar general Monsignor James Margason. Margason revealed that the late Monsignor Bernard Sullivan knew the details of allegations that Kownacki had sexually molested youths in Guatamala and had brought twin boys back from that country. Additionally, the testimony revealed that the Diocese was aware of a Washington Park scandal in which Kownacki was accused of continually abusing and raping a 16 year-old girl. The jury was presented with a letter written by the girl claiming that Kownacki impregnated her and then attempted to induce an abortion by squeezing her uterus. Kownacki was finally removed from the Diocese in 1995 after having been reassigned to six separate churches.
In a letter to parishioners, Bishop Edward Braxton wrote that the Diocese cannot afford to pay the award and would appeal the $5 million dollar verdict. Several citizen groups such as Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and the Fellowship of Southern Illinois Laity have called on Braxton to withdraw his intent to appeal the verdict. Braxton was not assigned to Belleville until 2005 and had no part in the Kownacki reassignments.
The law offices of Joseph G. Klest represent sexual abuse victims throughout Illinois. The Illinois Trial lawyers Association has tapped Joseph G. Klest to write a "friend of the court" brief in a case being heard by the Illinois Supreme Court. That case will likely decide the outcome of the verdict in the case of the Belleville Diocese, and will likely impact hundreds of other sexual abuse cases throughout the State of Illinois. If you have been the victim of sexual abuse, exploitation or assault, you need a lawyer with experience handling these highly sensitive and emotional cases. Contact Joseph G. Klest for a confidential, free initial consultation.
