Tuesday, April 11

First Priest Held On IL. Sex Law

Rev. Frederick Lenczycki, who served two years for molesting boys and was scheduled to be released from jail, will be held by a 1998 Illinois law.

(AP)State officials petitioned the court to involuntarily commit the Rev. Frederick Lenczycki on the grounds that he likely would molest again.

A judge on Monday ordered the 61-year-old priest held at the state facility in Joliet until a hearing can be held to determine if he should remain there indefinitely.

The case is the first in which the state has attempted to hold a priest under Illinois' Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act, a 1998 law that allows for the involuntary commitment of convicted sex offenders to mental institutions until they are determined to no longer be threats to society, said DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett.