Pastor Pleads Innocent to Sexual Assault

 Posted on February 25, 2013 in Chicago News

A La Grange pastor, the Reverend Donald R. Jung, 59, of the Second Baptist Church in La Grange, has plead innocent to the charges of assaulting a 9-year-old girl, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Strangely enough, Rev. Jung admitted guilt to raping a 10-year-old girl more than 20 years ago, though he was never charged in that assault. Rev. Lynn Lacey, another minister at the church, told the Sun-Times that “that’s not the man I know… he’s an honest person.” The honest priest is being held on $750,000 bail on one charge of predatory criminal sexual assault, a crime that’s a felony in Illinois and could land him in jail for an extended period of time.

Sexual assault of children is not a new story, and unfortunately, not a new one in the realm of church or religion, either. The Catholic church has come under fire repeatedly in the 20th and 21st century for alleged sexual abuse that’s either been perpetrated or glossed over by high-ranking church officials. The same goes for sexual abuse in Boy Scout troops—the most recent case blew up in San Francisco in January.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, an estimated 285,400 children were victims of sexual assault in 1999. The data shows that the Jung case fits in with larger statistics: 95 percent of sexual assault victims were assaulted by a male, and almost 75 percent were assaulted by someone they were acquainted with or knew by sight. About half of these children experienced a rape, defined as anal, oral, or vaginal.

Still, there are few cases that are similar to the Jung case, in that the defense admits to a non-relevant case. If you or someone you know is facing charges such as Jung, don’t go through it alone. Contact a dedicated Chicago-area criminal defense attorney today.