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Crystal Lake man, church elder charged with failing to report sexual abuse of child
By KATIE SMITHEmailFollow
Nov. 25, 2020
A Jehovah's Witness church elder is accused of failing to notify police about a known instance of sexual abuse against a minor in his congregation.
Michael M. Penkava, 71, of Crystal Lake, was charged Nov. 18 with violating reporting provisions. The offense is a misdemeanor typically punishable by less than one year in jail.
Outside of his involvement with the church, known among Jehovah's Witnesses as a Kingdom Hall, Penkava taught for 35 years at West Elementary School in Crystal Lake. He also previously wrote as a freelance columnist for the Northwest Herald.
He's accused of failing to tell police about a male congregant who was sexually abusing a family member, court records show.
Woodstock-based attorney Philip Prossnitz said Penkava might not have been a mandated reporter at the time. Illinois law grants some protections to communication between faith leaders and congregants, Prossnitz said.
"Our research indicates that if information is received within the context of a penitent-clergy privilege, it does not have to be disclosed and such individuals are not mandated reporters, and I think that might be what is at issue here in this prosecution for this misdemeanor," he said.
Penkava testified more than a year ago at the trial of Crystal Lake man, Arturo Hernandez-Pedraza.
A jury found Hernandez-Pedraza guilty in October 2019 of sexually assaulting and abusing a young female relative for more than 13 years.
At trial, Penkava invoked his right as a religious leader to not testify against the man. Ultimately, he was required to answer questions about actions the congregation took after learning about the sexual abuse more than a decade before it was reported.
Penkava learned about the accusations in July 2006, prosecutors said. Shortly after, church leaders warned parishioners not to leave their children alone with Hernandez-Pedraza.
The accusations weren’t reported to police until 2018, however, when the victim told church elders the abuse hadn’t stopped, prosecutors said at the time of 2019 trial.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Penkava declined to comment about the charge while the case was ongoing.
According to the Jehovah's Witnesses official website, followers of the faith "abhor child abuse and view it as a crime."
It went on to say that "authorities are responsible for addressing such crimes" and "elders do not shield any perpetrator of child abuse from the authorities."
When elders learn of an accusation of child abuse, they consult with the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses to "ensure compliance with child abuse reporting laws," according to the website.
Regardless of reporting laws, the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses instructs its elders to report the accusations if a minor is still in danger of abuse, according to the website.
Penkava is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Jan. 6.
A jury on Wednesday convicted a Crystal Lake man of sexually assaulting and abusing a young female relative for more than 13 years, despite leaders at the man’s church being aware of the allegations for more than a decade.
Arturo Hernandez-Pedraza has been in custody since Oct. 20, 2018, at the McHenry County Jail. A jury returned about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday with guilty verdicts on all 14 aggravated criminal sexual abuse, predatory criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual abuse, sexual relations within families and domestic battery charges filed against him. He’s scheduled for sentencing at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 19.
Hernandez-Pedraza’s attorneys, McHenry County Assistant Public Defenders Angelo Mourelatos and Richard Behof said after court Wednesday that the 42-year-old father maintains his innocence.
“We are disappointed with the verdict,” Mourelatos said, adding that he and Behof plan to file an appeal.
The allegations lodged against Hernandez-Pedraza date back as far as 2005. Over the course of more than a decade, Hernandez-Pedraza continued to rape, sexually assault and sexually abuse the girl, prosecutors said.
On Tuesday, an elder from Hernandez-Pedraza’s congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses was called to testify about alleged admissions Hernandez-Pedraza made in reference to the sexual abuse and assault claims.
The Kingdom Hall elder, Michael Penkava, tried to invoke his right as a religious leader to not testify against Hernandez-Pedraza. Ultimately, he was required to answer questions about actions the congregation took after learning about the sexual abuse.
Penkava testified that he learned about the accusations in July 2006, prosecutors said. Shortly after, church leaders warned parishioners not to leave their children alone with Hernandez-Pedraza. The accusations weren’t reported until 2018, however, when the victim told church elders the abuse hadn’t stopped, prosecutors said.
The most serious charge against Hernandez-Pedraza, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, could land him in prison for as many as 30 years.
