Priest Abuse Victims File Lawsuit Against Archdiocese

Three people filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Thursday alleging sexual abuse by one of the former priests named in documents released by the organization this week.

The plaintiff's, who were children in the 1960s and '70s, claim they were molested by Norbert J. Maday in places ranging from cars to motel swimming pools.

Thomas Hacker, a substitute teacher and Boy Scout leader, is also named in the suit. Hacker is serving two concurrent 50-year prison terms on a 1989 conviction for molesting three boys.

"I've struggled with alcohol, I've struggled with drugs. When I had my children, it changed my life," said one of the plaintiffs, who's referred to as John Doe. "He (Maday) would jump in the pool, feel us up. He would take off our swimming trunks and make us run naked to go pick them up again."

Maday, who served as a priest at Chicago's St. Leo Catholic Church and later at St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church in Oak Lawn alongside Hacker, is referred to at length in the Archdiocese internal documents.

Maday is not at a halfway house in Wisconsin after serving nearly 20 years in prison for abusing teenage boys.

"Adults in position of responsibility, their first instinct is to protect their institution at the expense of these children," the plaintiffs' attorney, Chris Hurley, said.

This is the first lawsuit filed since the documents were released on Tuesday.

The suit seeks more than $50,000 on each of multiple civil counts. The diocese hadn't seen the suit, so couldn't comment, spokeswoman Susan Burritt said.