$2-Million Settlement For Man Who Accused Providence H.S. Priest Of Rape

Just before a sexual abuse trial for the former president of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox was set to begin, a settlement was reached according to the Chicago Sun-Times.  Robert Krankovich had accused Rev. Richard McGrath of rape when he was a student in the 1990s. Last week, the civil case was settled for $2-million.

McGrath’s religious order is the Augustinians and the order and school are under the purview of the Diocese of Joliet.

Church officials did not admit to any wrong doing in settling the civil case.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that earlier this year, McGrath was under oath and questioned about the lawsuit that accuses him of raping Krankvich. McGrath said he never engages in “any unlawful, immoral or sexually improper conduct with any student.”

McGrath was the president and principal of Providence Catholic for 32-years, but suddenly resigned in late 2017 after a student reported seeing a disturbing image on Fr. McGrath’s cell phone. New Lenox Police subsequently launched an investigation, for which Fr. McGrath did not cooperate and did not turn over the cell phone which was property of the school.

Meanwhile, when McGrath was deposed for the lawsuit, “he asserted his Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions when asked whether he had been looking at child pornography on his phone and whether he destroyed that phone.”