A former Roman Catholic priest from Hinsdale, who in March was declared a “sexually violent person,” will not be granted a new trial, a DuPage County judge ruled Tuesday.

Lawyers for 64-year-old Fred Lenczycki said DuPage Circuit Judge Bonnie Wheaton erred in barring them from questioning a psychologist who testified as an expert witness for the state about portions of the report she prepared for the commitment proceedings.

The judge also failed to properly instruct jurors about the supervision and treatment Lenczycki would be required to receive if he were released from state custody, according to the defense motion for a retrial.

After hearing brief arguments Tuesday from prosecutors and Lenczycki’s attorneys, Wheaton ruled that the former cleric received a fair trial.

“I believe that neither one of those rulings was in error,” she said. “However, if there was an error, I don’t believe it was serious enough to jeopardize (Lenczycki’s) right to a fair trial.”

The next step is for Wheaton to decide whether Lenczycki will be required to remain in state custody while receiving treatment or if he can be released and treated in the community.

James Montgomery, the former priest’s attorney, said that decision will determine whether his client appeals Tuesday’s ruling.

“Unless (he is) allowed to be treated in the community, we will appeal,” Montgomery said. 

Lenczycki abused about 30 young boys over the course of 25 years at six parishes in Illinois, Missouri and California, according to court testimony. He pleaded guilty in 2004 to molesting three boys at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church in Hinsdale in the early 1980s. He served half of his five-year prison sentence.

In 2006, just before he was to be released on parole, the state sought to place him in a treatment facility under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act. The Illinois law allows convicted sex offenders to be committed to mental health facilities if prosecutors can prove they are likely to commit another sex crime.

Dr. Amy Phenix, a California clinical psychologist who specializes in sex-offender treatment, wrote in her report that Lenczycki would be likely to commit a sex crime again if he were released because he would not receive adequate treatment and supervision. Lenczycki’s attorneys sought to cross examine Phenix about this portion of her report, but Wheaton did not allow the line of questioning.

About an hour into their two-hour deliberations in March, jurors asked the court whether Lenczycki would be required to receive treatment if he were released, according to the motion. Jurors were instructed to make their decision based on the evidence they heard during the four-day proceedings.

Montgomery said Wheaton should have advised the jurors of the relevant state laws concerning convicted sex offenders.