After the Rev. Richard McGrath was accused in late 2017 of having child pornography on the cell phone he used as president of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, he refused to turn it over to police or his religious superiors, thwarting a criminal investigation.
Another criminal probe was subsequently launched when a man who attended Providence in the 1990s accused McGrath of raping him back then – accusations contained in a lawsuit that was recently dismissed by a judge on a technicality but is likely to be re-filed.
ADVERTISING
The criminal investigation, now in the hands of Will County prosecutors, has not yielded any charges.
Through it all, the order of Catholic priests to which McGrath has belonged for decades, the Augustinians, stuck with him.
But it appears McGrath may not be sticking with them.
According to the Rev. Richie Mercado, secretary of the Augustinians’ Midwest province, McGrath “is unlawfully absent from the community.”