Chicago Archdiocese Pays $8 Million Dollars The Largest Priest Sex Abuse Settlement In The Country
Chicago Archdiocese, Sexual Abuse 05/18/2020bhorwitz
In March of 2019, The Blake Horwitz Law Firm reached the largest out-of-court settlement with the Chicago Archdiocese on behalf of John Doe, who as a minor was sexually assaulted numerous times by former Reverend John Calicott. As reported by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, this settlement is the largest recovery in the U.S. for an individual who was sexually abused by a priest.
In the 1990s, when Doe was just a young parishioner at Holy Angels Church on Chicago’s South Side, Calicott began sexually abusing Doe upon returning from administrative leave for similar allegations of molesting children. As described by the Chicago Tribune, the Church allowed Calicott to return to active ministry even though he admitted that he had engaged in sexual acts with two minors in the 1970s. As a direct result of the Church’s decision, Calicott was then able to gain access to Doe and sexually assault him several times.
The Catholic Church finally laicized Calicott in 2002 based on credible reports of sexual misconduct. Although Calicott recently told the Chicago Sun Times that Doe’s allegations were “crazy” and “absurd,” the Chicago Archdiocese went on to settle with Doe nearly two decades after Calicott’s removal from active ministry.
If you or someone you know shares a similar story as John Doe, contact the Blake Horwitz Law Firm at (312) 676-2100 or [email protected].
Read more about the settlement below:
- Chicago Law Bulletin, “Chicago Archdiocese Pays $8 Million to Settle Abuse Case Out of Court”
- Chicago Sun Times, “Lawyer says $8 million settlement reached with Chicago Archdiocese over priest abuse”
