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December 13, 2004
Milwaukee authorities seek extradition of Illinois priest
MILWAUKEE - A Roman Catholic priest from Illinois is charged in a Wisconsin warrant with bringing a boy to Milwaukee more than 20 years ago and sexually assaulting him.
Milwaukee police are seeking the extradition of Francis Engels, 68, who has been held in the Henry County, Ill., jail without bail since Tuesday on two felony counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child.
The victim, Dan Koenigs, now 37, said three priests, including Engels, molested him many times between 1980 and 1985, according to his attorney, Joe Klest, of Schaumburg, Ill.
Klest said some of the abuse took place in Kentucky and Wisconsin, and Koenigs was able to identify the Milwaukee motel where the abuse happened.
Charges could not be brought in Illinois because the statute of limitations has lapsed, Klest said, but the clock stopped on the Wisconsin allegations when the priest left the state.
In February, Koenigs filed a $1 million civil lawsuit against the diocese in Peoria and the three priests. He claims Peoria's late Bishop Edward O'Rourke knew the priests were dangerous because another family had reported abuse in the 1970s.
The diocese said church officials did not know of the alleged abuse until 1993, when Engels and another of the priests, William Harbert, were removed from public ministry.
In a newspaper article on the filing of the lawsuit posted on the diocesan Web site, officials said they were disappointed by Koenigs' lawsuit.
"The diocese has been in frequent contact with Mr. Koenigs since April 2002 with repeated offers to assist with counseling and is confused and saddened by his course of action," the diocese said in a statement.
Klest said the civil lawsuit is scheduled to go to mediation in January.
Meanwhile, Engels was expected in court in Illinois Monday.
Posted by Nealus at December 13, 2004 03:00 PM
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