The Rev. Daryl P. Bujak
New Pastor's spankings lead to battery charges
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
May 11, 2006
ELGIN - A 13-year-old Richmond girl who accused a male relative of sexual abuse was beaten weekly for more than a month by an Elgin pastor who was counseling her about the alleged sexual abuse, police said Thursday.
The Rev. Daryl P. Bujak, 30, pastor at First Missionary Baptist Church at 385 Silver St. in Elgin, was disciplining the girl for making the allegations, Elgin Police Lt. Mike Turner said.
The girl's mother and the accused relative agreed to the discipline, which involved Bujak allegedly spanking the girl repeatedly with a three-foot by two-inch piece of wood molding on Wednesdays prior to church services from March to May 2005, Turner said.
"He told them flat-out what he was going to do," Turner said.
The 13-year-old's mother told the Northwest Herald Thursday that she and the accused, Matthew Resh, brought the girl to Bujak in mid-March 2005 because the mother thought she was lying about the sexual assault allegations.
"She always lied a lot, so when she said these things about Matt her credibility was already damaged," the mother said. "She could have easily been lying about this as well."
The mother said the first time they met with Bujak he told them he was a former police officer and had worked with "tons of molested teens."
The girl suffered bruises and welts to the back of her legs and buttocks. Bujak, who turned himself in on Wednesday, was charged with one misdemeanor count of battery.
Bujak also told Matt Resh that he should spank the girl, the girl's mother said. Matt Resh, 33, of 26445 W. Route 134, Apt. 6, Ingleside, was charged Monday with five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. Resh is a former member of the Richmond Plan Commission.
"It would be nothing for [Bujak] to spank her 30 or 40 times at one sitting," the mother said. "Matt did the same thing. He would spank her like 100 times at one sitting."
Bujak would spank the girl once a week and the relative would spank her more often, the mother said.
The girl's mother admitted that, in hindsight, the entire situation looked odd.
"I should have been more assertive," she said.
The mother said she notified police in October of the alleged sexual abuse. "Now I'm like, what did I put my daughter through."
Bujak, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, lives in a home attached to the church building. In a message on the church's Web site, Bujak describes the church as one that "cares about the lives of people."
Information on the Web site describes the church as fundamental and grounded in the Baptist tradition, but independent and unaffiliated with any particular denomination.
Riley Barrett, whose father was formally a missionary with First Missionary Baptist Church, described Bujak as an upstanding man who loved his family.
"He definitely loves his kids and he's a loving father, and he wouldn't do anything to hurt children," said Barrett, 18.
Barrett, who was unaware of the charges, said Bujak was well-liked among children at a week-long Bible camp he attended in the summers.
"He's probably one of the most popular people with the kids," Barrett said.
Debbie Campbell, who lives next door to the church on Silver Street, said she knew the family and was shocked by the situation.
"We know the kids, the wife, everyone," she said. "It is a nice family."
McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi declined to comment on the charges against Bujak.
Bujak posted $5,000 of a $50,000 bond and was released, police said. He is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. June 16 in Elgin.
Church members mum on pastor
By Nathaniel Zimmer
Chicago Sun-Times
May 17, 2006
As the news of an Elgin pastor's arrest on a battery charge continues to reverberate, church members and the accused are mostly refusing to comment on the case -- which the mother of the alleged victim said wasn't surprising, given the tight-knit nature of the small congregation she belonged to for some 18 months.
Last week, authorities alleged that the Rev. Daryl P. Bujak repeatedly spanked a 12-year-old McHenry County girl with a piece of wood molding because he thought she was lying when she told her mother she had been sexually abused by another person.
Bujak, 30, is the pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church, an independent, unaffiliated church.
Believing her daughter wasn't telling the truth, the mother admits she consented to the beatings, which police say left the girl with bruises and welts on her legs and buttocks. But the mother and authorities now say they believe her daughter, and an Ingleside man has been charged with sexually assaulting the girl.
On Tuesday, the girl spoke to the Courier News with the permission of her mother. She said she feared Bujak's alleged beatings. But the fact that her mother agreed to the sessions left her confused at the time about whether the pastor's actions were wrong.
"I just thought that . . . it was OK, it was fine," she said. "But I hated it."
'The truth is going to come out'
On May 8, two days before Bujak was charged in Elgin, Matthew Resh, 33, was arrested and charged in McHenry County with five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. The alleged incidents occurred between September 2003 and November 2005, according to authorities. Resh faces a minimum 30-year sentence if convicted on all five counts.
The case made headlines around the country, sparking indignation over the sexual abuse and spanking charges, and prompting many to wonder why the mother had consented to the alleged beatings.
As he did last Thursday, when he told the Courier News in his only reported remarks that "the truth is going to come out," Bujak said he wouldn't comment on the allegations, then suggested there was more to the story.
"We would have no comment at this time," said Bujak, who lives with his wife and five children in the home attached to the modest church. "The case is going to be adjudicated in court. Only one side of the story has been reported."
Congregation members declined to answer questions in polite tones before hanging up, abruptly in several instances.
Of those reached, only Bob Steele of Elgin would respond to the question of whether he was supporting Bujak in the wake of the allegations.
"We're standing by the pastor," he said. "That's our only comment."
'That was always a little weird'
According to the mother, for around a month starting in March of last year, she brought her daughter to Bujak for disciplining each Wednesday before the 7 p.m. service. Afterward, she said, "He would call me back in, tell me how it went, what he did."
"He would tell me, 'You don't need to tell everyone what's going on,' " she said. "That was always a little weird to me. I kind of wanted people to know, because I wanted them to pray for us."
The beatings stopped when Bujak said the girl was too rebellious and the sessions weren't working, according to the mother.
Elgin police first learned about the allegations against Bujak on March 14 of this year from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Both Bujak and Resh were freed after posting bond last week.
Girl: 'Why me?'
Northwest Herald
May 18,2006
RICHMOND - The 13-year-old Richmond girl who police say was sexually assaulted by a family member and then beaten by her pastor when she tried to tell about it said Wednesday that she sometimes wondered if anyone would ever believe her.
"I was confused and angry," she said in an interview, which was conducted with her mother's permission. "I was frustrated. I was like 'Why are they doing this to me? Why me?' "
Within days last week, the girl's relative, Matthew Resh, 33, of Ingleside, was charged withpredatory criminal sexual assault of a child and the girl's former pastor, the Rev. Daryl P. Bujak, 30, of First Missionary Baptist Church in Elgin, was charged with battery for spanking the girl to discipline her for telling what he believed to be lies.
Resh, who is due in court today, is accused of sexually assaulting the girl five times between September 2003 and March 2005.
After the girl's mother and Bujak didn't believe the girl when she tried to talk about the sexual assaults, Bujak asked permission to begin spanking her with a piece of wood molding, police said. The girl's mother said she agreed.
Between March and May 2005, Bujak spanked the girl at the church every Wednesday before services, police said. According to the victim and her mother, Matthew Resh also spanked the girl nightly during the same time period.
The girl said she dreaded the Wednesday nights at church, which she said typically included 45 minutes of counseling with Bujak and 15 minutes of spanking.
"He just said stuff about why it is not right to say that stuff and asked me why I did it," the girl said. "Then he would spank me. ... He would say 'stand still,' and he often asked me 'you know I still love you, right?' "
The girl suffered bruises and welts to the back of her legs and buttocks, police said.
The girl's mother and her children stopped attending the church last fall, after prosecutors began to investigate Resh, she said.
Matthew Resh's attorney and Bujak could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Bujak, who is free on $500 bond, next is expected in a Kane County court June 16.
The girl's mother said she hoped to move her family to Pennsylvania.
The girl, who admitted that her own counseling had been successful so far, said she had learned valuable lessons from the last few years.
"I learned that I need to just keep telling people even if nobody is believing me," the girl said. "I need to speak up for what I know is right."
Attorney: Resh says he's innocent
Northwest Herald
May 19, 2006
WOODSTOCK - The attorney for the former Richmond man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage family member said his client denies police allegations and said he was confident that his client is innocent.
Matthew Resh, 33, of Ingleside is accused of sexually assaulting the now-13-year-old girl five times between September 2003 and March 2005.
"[Resh] has advised me that he is innocent of these charges, and I believe that after a trial by jury he will be found not guilty," said Thomas A. Vaclavek, Resh's attorney, outside of court. "I think that is when the truth will finally be heard."
Days after Resh was arrested last week, police charged an Elgin pastor with battery, saying he spanked the alleged victim when he did not believe the girl's stories about Resh. The Rev. Daryl P. Bujak, 30, of First Missionary Baptist Church in Elgin, could be sentenced to up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. Bujak next is expected in Kane County court June 16.
An Illinois Department of Children and Family Services spokesman said Thursday that they were continuing an investigation of Resh, Bujak, and the victim's mother.
Police say that the girl's parents brought her to Bujak last fall because they thought she was lying about her accusations. Bujak asked the victim's parents' permission to spank the girl with a piece of wood molding, and both parents obliged.
Resh, who was a former member of the Richmond Plan Commission, also spanked the girl at home, the victim and her mother have said.
The girl suffered bruises and welts to the back of her legs and buttocks.
Teen Silenced From Speaking About Alleged Assault
Northwest Herald
May 20, 2006
WOODSTOCK, Ill. A 13-year-old girl who police say was sexually assaulted by a family member and physically abused by an Elgin pastor cannot speak publicly about the allegations, a judge ruled Friday.
McHenry County Judge Michael Chmiel said in a juvenile court that the victim could talk about the incidents only with her court-appointed attorney, her counselor, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
The girl conducted at least two newspaper interviews in the past week about the criminal allegations.
To discuss the situation with anyone else, the girl must receive permission from Chmiel or her attorney.
"It's unfortunate that this order even has to be entered," Chmiel said.
Chmiel's decision was agreed to by the girl's parents, prosecutors, and the her attorney.
Matthew Resh, 33, of Ingleside was arrested last week on multiple charges of predatory criminal sexual assault for allegedly assaulting the girl five times between September 2003 and March 2005.
Days later, Elgin Police charged the Rev. Daryl P. Bujak, 30, of First Missionary Baptist Church in Elgin, with battery for spanking the girl with a piece of wood molding when he did not believe her stories about Resh.
An Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigation into the two incidents continues.
The victim's attorney, Jason Majer, a McHenry County assistant public defender, declined to comment on the case.
Chmiel also ruled that the victim and her three siblings were to be wards of the court, which could allow Chmiel to take the children out of their mother's home and place them in foster care.
However, Chmiel allowed the children to remain in the custody of their mother, who must continue to undergo counseling.
Resh, a former member of the Richmond Plan Commission, was allowed to have supervised contact with three of his own children.
Resh is free on $20,000 bond, and Bujak posted $500 bond.
Both men are next expected in court in June.