The Catholic Diocese of Peoria is being sued by a man who claims that a defrocked priest sexually abused him when he was a student and parishioner at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in the late s and early s. Michael Eckert, whose family attended St. Vincent de Paul between , said in a lawsuit filed in Peoria County on Monday that Father Thomas Miller had sexually abused him once a month in that period.
The abuse lasted from when Eckert was 8 years old until he was According to the initial complaint , filed by Eckert's attorneys at St. More: Sweeping investigation reveals decades of scandals within Catholic Diocese of Peoria. The complaint says that Miller's alleged abuse injured Eckert "physically, psychologically, spiritually, and emotionally. Many of those were named in Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic church in the state, which accuses the diocese of many of the same things alleged in the lawsuit, such as protecting those accused of sexual abuse and poor record keeping.
We are honored by his courage in coming forward and using his name in this lawsuit. Anderson said that Eckert wanted other children to be protected from abusive priests along with exposing the diocese's practices toward those accused of abusing children.
He said that prior leaders at the diocese, such as former Bishops John Meyers and Daniel Jenky, chose to protect the reputation of the church over the lives of young people. More: The list of 51 Peoria Catholic Diocese clergy named in a report on child sex abuse. He said that the diocese made choices to ignore the hazard brought forth by protecting Miller and other abusive priests and hiding behind statutes of limitations that prevented legal action from being brought forth against them.
Miller was suspended from the ministry in after the diocese received "credible allegations" of sexual abuse against a boy when he was working in Bloomington 25 years prior. He had been set to transfer back there shortly before the nowyear-old man made the accusation against him. Eventually, more people came forward with allegations against Miller, with an investigation conducted by the diocese before the Vatican made the decision to remove him from the priesthood in November He was the first priest in the diocese known to have been removed over accusations of sexual misconduct.
