Richard Jacklin, a Roman Catholic priest, was sentenced to 18 years in prison last month in Kankakee County court after a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting a resident with a disability at a developmental center in 2017.
On Jan. 26, Kankakee County Circuit Judge Kathy Bradshaw-Elliott sentenced 71-year-old Jacklin to almost two decades in the Illinois Department of Corrections. He must serve 85% of the sentence. After his release from prison, he will be on parole for three years to life. Jacklin must also register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
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Jacklin was arrested by Illinois State Police on Oct. 31, 2017, after allegations that he had sexually assaulted a resident at Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee. Prosecutors said a nurse walked in on Jacklin performing a sex act on a 39-year-old man who had been a patient at the center since 2010, was paralyzed and had an intellectual disability. Jacklin was visiting the center to minister to its residents.
In September 2022, a jury trial found Jacklin guilty of aggravated sexual assault on a handicapped person, criminal sexual assault by force and sexual misconduct on a person with a disability.
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According to the Diocese of Joliet, Jacklin was ordained in 1984. He had been assigned to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Goodrich since 2005, where he served until his arrest, according to Tribune records.
The Diocese of Joliet is also facing a lawsuit in connection to the alleged abuse. The lawsuit, filed in October 2019, accuses the diocese of failing to properly investigate Jacklin and protect people with disabilities from the priest.
The civil lawsuit was filed by attorneys for the Illinois Office of State Guardian on behalf of the man, who is a ward of the state. Named as defendants are the diocese, Jacklin and former Bishop Daniel Conlon. The plaintiffs asked a court to award more than $50,000 and court costs.
Jacklin was one of two retired priests accused of sexual misconduct who attracted controversy in 2018 because they were living in a Naperville retirement facility, St. John Vianney Villa, across a fence from Kennedy Junior High School in Lisle, according to the Naperville Sun.
The Naperville School District 203 and the Naperville and Lisle police departments urged the diocese to move both priests somewhere else. The diocese did so but did not disclose where the priests were relocated.
Chicago Tribune’s Madeline Buckley contributed.
