VIGILANTE

Catholic Church Sex Abuse: Indiana Priest Beaten, Told ‘This Is for the Little Kids’

Attack is being treated as a hate crime.

An Indiana priest was beaten until he passed out by an attacker who yelled: “This is for all the little kids.” The attack, which happened Monday in Merrillville, near Chicago, is being treated as a hate crime by authorities. “Mostly the bruising on his forehead, the whole front of his head went into the floor,” said Chief Joseph Petruch of the Merrillville Police Department, adding that the attacker “grabbed him by the neck, threw him down on the floor, and immediately started slamming his head against the floor. Both sides, front and back.” Father Basil Hutsko was praying at the altar at his church when he was attacked. “I have enough there to say it’s a hate crime,” said Petruch. Hutsko has reportedly never been found guilty of any sexual-abuse charges, though investigators say they’re looking into his background.