Rev. John M. Furdek

Summary of Case: A priest of the Joliet diocese, Furdek was arrested in February 2000 in Racine, WI, when he tried to meet up for sex with a 14-year-old boy he had met on the internet. The "boy" turned out to be an undercover detective. Furdek was also found to have in his possession anabolic steroids and marijuana, intending to give them to the "boy". He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, 12 years of extended supervision after his incarceration, and 10 years probation, to run concurrently with the supervision. He was released from prison in May 2006. He was found in February 2007 to be living in a Chicago condominium in a building which also housed a daycare center. The Illinois Department of Corrections had approved of that living situation, but planned to order Furdek to move in response to media attention. Furdek is a registered sex offender in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Ordained: 1984

   

Start Stop Parish Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1984

Joliet bishop was Joseph Leopold Imesch (1979-2006)

1987 Sts. Peter and Paul Naperville IL 3/4 Parish had a school with 563-583 students.
1987 1988         Furdek is not indexed in the 1988 Directory, nor is he listed at his previous assignment in the Milwaukee archdiocesan pages of the Directory.
1988 1989 Sts. Peter and Paul Naperville IL 2/4 The parish school had 574 students.
1989 1996 St. Philip the Apostle Addison IL 2/3 Parish had a school with 262-277 students, and a religious education program shown in the 1996 Directory with 600 students.
    St. Mary of Gostyn Downers Grove IL    
1996 2000 St. Alexander's

Villa Park

• In February 2000 Furdek was arrested in Racine, Wisconsin, for trying to meet up for sex with what he thought was a 14-year- old boy. It turns out the "boy" was an undercover detective who had interacted with Furdek via an internet chat room. Furdek had with him some marijuana and anabolic steroids to give to the "boy".

IL 1/2 Parish had a school with 278-305 students.
2000 2001         Furdek is not indexed in the 2001 Directory.
2001 2002 Absent on Leave       Furdek is not indexed in the Directories after 2002. He was known to be living in Chicago in 2002.
2002 2011        

Furdek was sentenced in May 2003 to 15 years in prison for attempted sexual assault of a child. He was expected to be released after 3 years with 12 years of extended supervision. He was also sentenced 10 years probation for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. This was to run concurrently with the supervision.

Furdek was paroled in May 2006. A registered sex offender, he was found in Feb. 2007 to be living in a Chicago condominium in a building which also housed a daycare center. In response to media attention, the Illinois Department of Corrections planned to order Furdek to move, although it had approved his living there previously. In 2011, he remains a registered sex offender in IL and WI.

 

Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1985-2002)

• Dupage Priest Charged in Internet Sex Sting, By Jeff Coen, Chicago Tribune, February 19, 2000
• Accused Priest to Face Charges Ruling Follows Internet Sex Sting, By Jeff Coen, Chicago Tribune, March 14, 2000
• Worst Kept SecretsSexual Abuse Cases: Plenty of Public Information on 15 Joliet Diocese Priests, By Ted Slowik, Herald News, May 5, 2002
• Ex-Pastor Sentenced to 15 Years John Furdek Solicited Teenboy for Sex, By Kathryn Grondin, Chicago Daily Herald, May 21, 2003
• Too Close for Comfort, By Cathleen Falsani, Chicago Sun-Times [Chicago IL], February 14, 2007



Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Furdek's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on May 26, 2011.