Peter D. Kohler
“Something wasn’t making sense,” “David” thought to himself. Then the repressed memories started to come. Those memories included a night at church in 1999, when David was just 12 years old. The regular priest at Saint Joseph in Lena was on medical leave. That’s when David met Father Peter Kohler, who was visiting the Diocese of Rockford as a temporary replacement, at a religious education class.
Before the class ended, one by one the children went to Kohler for confession. David was the last to go. He remembers it being late; parents were starting to arrive to pick up their children. In confession, Kohler asked David to lower his pants and bend over. After raping David, Kohler told him it was a good thing and blessed him.
David felt hurt and confused. During the car ride home, he told his father that Kohler “put his penis in my butt.” David’s father said he would take care of it. Kohler did not show up at Sunday mass due to an “emergency” and did not return to the church.
“I’m 33 years old,” he says, “and I have yet to kiss a girl.”
A week later, David was still in pain. His father took him to the doctor. David remembers the doctor asking him if he “put anything in his butt.” David said he hadn’t. He remembers the doctor didn’t ask any follow-up questions.
David shared that he’s had many challenges. He had no girlfriends in high school, and he’s experienced eating disorders. He says his work history is not great: he left, quit, or was fired from every job he’s ever had. He’s addicted to masturbation and bondage, has lost friends, and says his siblings have distanced themselves. There have even been suicide attempts. “I’m 33 years old,” he says, “and I have yet to kiss a girl.”
The Attorney General’s investigators reviewed the Diocese of Rockford’s file on Kohler. There wasn’t much in it, since Kohler spent only a week or two ministering in the diocese while filling in for the regular priest at Saint Joseph. But the file did show that when the diocese learned about David’s allegation in the summer of 2017, it was able to work with the Lena police to track down Kohler’s identity using a pay stub from 1999.
As for David, he says he has spent much of his life “beating myself up, thinking it was all me. It was a horrible relief when it all started to come out.”