Illinois priest gets 7-year term in '60s incidents

Associated Press/July 18, 2006

A retired Catholic priest from Illinois, accused of molesting two boys on retreats in southern Wisconsin in the late 1960s, was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison.

The Rev. Donald McGuire, 76, was convicted Feb. 23 of molesting the two men when they were high school students in 1967 and 1968. A jury found him guilty on five counts of indecent behavior with a child.

McGuire, a member of the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus, taught at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill., from 1966 to 1970, and both of his accusers were students at the Jesuit-run school during that period.

The two said McGuire molested them on the Loyola campus, as well as at a house in Fontana during retreats to the Lake Geneva resort area.

Only the alleged Wisconsin molestation was considered in the trial before Circuit Judge James Carlson. The statute of limitations had expired in Illinois.

McGuire was relieved of active priestly duties in June 2003.

Due to health considerations, he was allowed to remain free pending the outcome of his appeal.