Convicted priest has plea for freedom denied

December 17, 2009 (CHICAGO) Forty-one-year-old Daniel McCormack has served two years of a five-year prison sentence. He is in the Jacksonville, Illinois, correctional center, which is west of Springfield. After Thursday's hearing, watchdog groups said he must not be released early.

"Daniel McCormack had allegations against him way back when he was in the seminary. And the church ordained him, and put him in a position where he had access to all sorts of children, and he was convicted of abusing five," said Sandra Stilling-Seahausen, Chicagoland Voice of the Faithful.

"I'm grateful that Father McCormack is still being held in prison, because every day that he is in prison, kids are safe from him," said Barbara Blaine, Survivors Network of Abused by Priests.

McCormack will have another court hearing on January 19.

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