Chicago priest pleads not guilty to two more abuse charges

Associated Press/June 9, 2006

The Archdiocese of Chicago had assigned a monitor to McCormack in August after molestation allegations first surfaced, though the archdiocese has said it couldn't confirm whether the alleged abuse occurred while McCormack was being monitored by a fellow priest.

A priest who previously denied sexually abusing three boys pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he abused two more children.

Authorities say the two most recent counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against the Rev. Daniel McCormack, filed last month, involve a 10-year-old boy and an 11-year-old boy. Each charge carries a penalty ranging from probation up to seven years in prison, the Chicago Tribune reported on its Web site.

Prosecutors allege McCormack fondled the 11-year-old on "an almost daily basis" for nearly five months beginning in September at Our Lady of the Westside School, Presentation Campus.

The alleged abuse against the 10-year-old was one time inside the rectory of St. Agatha sometime between August 2003 and June 2004, authorities said.

McCormack pleaded not guilty in March to charges he molested three boys between September 2001 and January 2005. The boys were 8, 9 and 11 years old at the time.

McCormack's attorney, Patrick Reardon, has said his client is innocent.