ALEDO - One of seven priests removed from public ministry last
year by the Catholic Diocese of Peoria is jailed on a criminal
sexual abuse charge stemming from his activities over the past few
months.
Gregory Plunkett, 58, of New Windsor turned himself in last week
to the Mercer County Jail in Aledo, where he remained Tuesday on
$75,000 bond.Jeff Dale, an investigator with the Mercer County
Sheriff's Office, said the charge was filed in connection with an
incident involving a juvenile "under the age of 17" and has nothing
to do with Plunkett's former role with the church.Dan Koenigs, 36,
of Cisco went public with allegations of sexual abuse against
Plunkett the month before the diocese asked him to step down in May
2002. He alleged that Plunkett fondled him and exposed himself
during a car ride in 1981, before he began studying to become a
priest."I'm in total disbelief that he was allowed to get into a
position of power over a juvenile again," Koenigs said.Koenigs was
a member of a parish in Cambridge at the time. Plunkett was pastor
of St. Catherine's in Aledo and St. Mary's in Keithsburg when the
diocese removed him from the priesthood.Criminal sexual abuse is a
Class 4 felony punishable by up to six months in county jail or one
to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, Dale
said.Theresa Churchill can be reached at 421-7978.
