Exclusive: Brothers Who Accused Pfleger of Abuse Took Polygraph Test, They Say - NBC Chicago
Exclusive: Brothers Who Accused Pfleger of Abuse Took Polygraph Test, They Say - NBC Chicago |
- Exclusive: Brothers Who Accused Pfleger of Abuse Took Polygraph Test, They Say - NBC Chicago
- Brothers Who Accused Pfleger of Abuse Took Polygraph Test, They Say - NBC Chicago
- Nightly Update: Pfleger Accusers Take Polygraph, COVID Increases Continue - NBC Chicago
- Silver Spring Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child Pornography - Department of Justice
| Exclusive: Brothers Who Accused Pfleger of Abuse Took Polygraph Test, They Say - NBC Chicago Posted: 30 Mar 2021 08:02 PM PDT Two brothers who accused St. Sabina Church leader Rev. Michael Pfleger of sexual misconduct say they have taken and passed lie detector tests in wake of what they described as attacks on their credibility, but Pfleger's attorneys are raising their own questions. The brothers, who live in Texas and spoke exclusively to NBC Chicago, said they chose to take polygraph exams on their own to help quell credibility concerns sparked by members of St. Sabina Church. Such tests are not admissible in Illinois courts, however. "We can't even get our own community to believe," the older of the two brothers said. The brothers, who are in their 60s and have not yet publicly identified themselves, have accused Pfleger of sexually abusing them decades ago. They allege that Pfleger groomed them as children and abused them at Chicago-area rectories. Their attorney, Eugene Hollander, said they "went through hell." Their stories led a third man, who hasn't been named, to come forward. Through a lawyer, he alleges that Pfleger grabbed his crotch in 1979, when he was 18. Attorneys for Pfleger in a statement called the allegations a shakedown and noted that polygraph results "are often wrong." "Their latest efforts are merely the next step in this old-fashioned shakedown. What gimmick will Mr. Hollander and his money-seeking clients use next?" the statement from James R. Figliulo, Michael D. Monico and Ryan W. Mitsos read. "What we know is this: the accusers' 45-year-old allegations are not corroborated by anyone or anything other than their own statements. The people who knew the accusers at the time of the alleged conduct, people who called the brothers their friends, do not believe their stories and staunchly believe in Father Pfleger's innocence." Kent College of Law Professor Richard Kling said courts have determined lie detector tests are "really more of an art than a science." "There are some studies which say the science is good, there are other studies which say the science is not good," Kling said. The Archdiocese of Chicago said it has received the polygraph exams and transmitted them to the independent review board as part of the ongoing investigation. After the first allegations surfaced in January, the Archdiocese of Chicago temporarily removed the 71-year-old priest to investigate. The brothers' complaint led to archdiocese and police investigations. Charges haven't been filed, but Illinois has no statute of limitations for major sex crimes. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services completed its own review, concluding there wasn't sufficient evidence to show that Pfleger was a threat. But the archdiocese is still investigating. Church officials said their investigation would note DCFS's findings, but that their process shouldn't be rushed. "Giving a case special treatment undermines the credibility of its outcome and ultimately serves neither the accuser nor the accused," the archdiocese said in a statement. "Justice demands a thorough and impartial process and there is no timeframe in which we 'should' make a determination." The accusations sent shockwaves through the church in the largely Black and low-income Auburn Gresham neighborhood and beyond. Often clashing with archdiocese leaders, Pfleger has made a name for himself by using unconventional tactics such as paying prostitutes to counsel them and defacing alcohol and cigarette billboards. He also boosted neighborhood development by opening an employment center and senior housing near his Gothic-style church. He inspired John Cusack's character in Spike Lee's 2015 movie "Chi-raq." Pfleger moved out of the rectory and has laid low while living elsewhere in Chicago during the investigation. He declined to be interviewed, but he tweeted that he's innocent: "When this is over, which I hope is soon, I will have much more to say." Pfleger has been suspended twice, including in 2008 during Barack Obama's presidential campaign when he mocked Obama's primary opponent Hillary Clinton.  |
| Brothers Who Accused Pfleger of Abuse Took Polygraph Test, They Say - NBC Chicago Posted: 30 Mar 2021 04:37 PM PDT   |
| Nightly Update: Pfleger Accusers Take Polygraph, COVID Increases Continue - NBC Chicago Posted: 30 Mar 2021 05:37 PM PDT  |
| Posted: 30 Mar 2021 01:58 PM PDT  Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced John Michael Raley, age 51, of Silver Spring, Maryland to 10 years in federal prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography. Raley was ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution. Judge Xinis also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Raley must continue to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office. According to his guilty plea, in 2012 Raley was convicted in U.S. District Court in Maryland of one count each of distribution and possession of child pornography. Raley was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. Raley was released from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons on February 15, 2019. On March 27, 2019, during the administration of a court-ordered polygraph, Raley admitted that after he was released from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, he obtained his personal effects from another individual to whom he had entrusted the effects during his imprisonment. Raley admitted that among the effects was a secure digital memory card (SD card). Raley had purchased an SD card adapter to plug into his television in order to allow him to view the contents of the SD card on the television at his home in Maryland. Raley admitted that the SD card contained images and videos of child pornography, which Raley had viewed three to four times since his release from prison. Raley then spoke with his U.S. Probation Officer by telephone in the presence of the polygraph examiner and admitted the same conduct. The Officer advised Raley to go to his home, where the Probation officer met him and confiscated the SD card. A federal search warrant was obtained for the card and a forensic examination was performed by an FBI examiner. The memory card contained thousands of images of child pornography, including boys under the age of 12 and depictions of sadistic conduct and violence. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page. Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the FBI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy F. Hagan, Jr. who prosecuted the federal case. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach. # # #  |
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