Nun is Found Guilty in Sex Abuse Cases

February 6, 2008 Southwest News-Herald - Oak Lawn, Burbank, Bridgeview

Nun Is Found Guilty in Sex Abuse Cases

By CHUCK SALVATORE

A nun who used to teach in the Chicago area and now resides in Oak Lawn has been found guilty of sexual molestation.

Sister Norma Giannini, 79, was sentenced to one year in prison and 10 years probation on Friday, Feb. 1, in a Milwaukee courthouse after pleading not guilty in November. Giannini was found guilty of having sexual intercourse with two boys who were 12 years old in the 1960s.

During the 1960s, Giannini was a principal of St. Patrick School in Milwaukee. According to reports, more than 160 allegations of sexual molestation happened during the span of four years.

She most recently lived with Sisters of Mercy in Oak Lawn because of declining health.

“On behalf of the Sisters, I express profound regret for the pain experienced by these two men and their families and anyone else touched by this situation,” said Sister Betty Smith, president of Sisters of Mercy, through a released statement.

The Sisters of Mercy said previously that Giannini was sent to a treatment facility in the ’90s. She also allegedly admitted to the Milwaukee Archdiocese in 1992 about having sexual intercourse with the two boys.

According to reports, one of the boys was a student of Giannini and allegedly had sex with her around 60 to 80 times. The other victim was a paperboy whose route included the convent where Giannini was living. The second victim said there were more than 100 incidents between him and Giannini.

According to the complaint, Sister Giannini stated, “She believed she was in love with both of them.”

Mary Guentner, Milwaukee director of Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said that Giannini admitted to the Milwaukee Archdiocese about the sexual abuse that took place, but the Archdiocese never reported it to the authorities. Guentner is not happy with the sentence Giannini received.

“We are glad this is over, but we are concerned that the sentence is different for a female perpetrator,” said Guentner.

According to Guentner, during the trial, the judge had said that what Giannini did was evil and disgusting but only sentenced her to one year in prison.

“Sexual abuse perpetrated by a woman is just as evil as sexual abuse perpetrated by a man,” said Guentner.

Guentner confirmed that in court, Giannini admitted to sexually abusing three other students in Milwaukee and one more in Chicago. The three additional sexual abuses in Milwaukee occurred during the same time period, however it is not known when the abuse of a Chicago boy occurred.

James St. Patrick, 53, and his best friend Jerry Kobes, whom have openly come out as the victims in the case were in court on Friday, reading statements on how this abuse has destroyed their lives.

Giannini was St. Patrick’s seventh- and eighth-grade teacher. He said that the abuse started to occur when he was 12 years old.

According to St. Patrick he filed a complaint with Milwaukee detectives three years ago, and called every week for two years. For two years, St. Patrick said he was given the run around. The former district attorney retired and when a new D.A. was appointed, his case was relooked at.

“My original file was lost, now it seems the former D.A. was for the Catholic Church,” said St. Patrick over the telephone.

St. Patrick is also unhappy with the sentence Giannini received.

“If you look at Fr. (John) Feeney, he received five-years for the same type of abuse. When men sexually abuse someone its rape, when women sexually abuse someone, I don’t know what people call it,” said St. Patrick.

Fr. John Feeney is a former Green Bay priest who was sent to prison in 2004 for sexually abusing minors after being transferred all over the state after allegations arose.

St. Patrick also added that it is unfortunate that sexual abuse by men and women are not looked at in the same way. He also believes that if a man had done to him and Kobes what Giannini did, then it might be looked at as more serious.

St. Patrick said he knows the three other victims who have come out and said they were abused by Giannini. He said those boys were a few grades a head of him but they all knew each other.

As a result of these incidents that occurred years ago, St. Patrick is not a practicing Catholic. Rather, he said, he has his own believes that are formed by his personal experiences throughout his life.

Giannini was principal at St. Clare of Montefalco, 5450 S. Talman Ave., Chicago, from 1983 to 1989. She was also was a teacher and dean at Mother McAuley High School, 3737 W. 99th St., Chicago, from 1972 to 1977. She has lived in Illinois since 1970.