Fr. Alfred Kunz, the Files He Kept, and the Midwest’s Child Exploitation Pipeline of Neglect
Fr. Alfred Kunz, the Files He Kept,
and the Midwest’s Child Exploitation Pipeline of Neglect-
part 9 in a series on child exploitation.
A Note on Sources and Approach
This reexamination draws only from verifiable public records, official statements from the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, the 2023 Illinois Attorney General’s Clergy Abuse Report, and media reporting. Where survivor testimony or second-hand accounts are cited, they are clearly labeled as allegations.
1: The Night It Ended — the Murder
On March 4, 1998, Fr. Alfred Kunz, 67, was found murdered in a hallway of St. Michael School in Dane, Wisconsin. His throat was slit, severing the carotid artery. He had multiple sharp-force injuries and defensive wounds on his right hand and forearm. He was barefoot and wearing only pajama bottoms.
- No forced entry
- No evidence of burglary
- No murder weapon recovered
- A partial male DNA profile (touch DNA) was recovered; it is not complete enough for CODIS entry or standard forensic genealogy but remains available for future testing or exclusion.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office has described this as one of the largest homicide investigations in county history. As of 2025, Sheriff Kalvin Barrett states the case remains active and receives one to two tips per month.
Investigators have repeatedly stated there were no ritual elements, occult symbols, or evidence of satanic activity at the scene.
2: The Files — What Is Publicly Known About Kunz’s Documentation
Fr. Kunz was a canon lawyer and, with lay activist Stephen Brady, co-founder of the advocacy group Roman Catholic Faithful (RCF). Through RCF and in his private correspondence he gathered information about alleged clerical misconduct in several Midwestern dioceses.
Publicly available RCF newsletters and Kunz’s own letters (published in outlets such as The Remnant) criticized bishops for:
- reassigning priests after complaints rather than removing them permanently
- discouraging external reporting of alleged abuse
- handling allegations internally to avoid scandal
Some of these patterns were later corroborated by official investigations (e.g., the 2023 Illinois AG Report, the 2018 Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, and the 2021 Wisconsin AG review of the five Wisconsin dioceses).
Stephen Brady has repeatedly stated that after Kunz’s death, some of Kunz’s private files were taken into diocesan custody and have not been returned to RCF or made public. The Diocese of Madison has never publicly confirmed or denied this claim.
3: Overlapping Shadows — Separate Phenomena, Shared Blind Spots
Kunz’s documented concerns about inadequate oversight of priests and youth programs existed in the same era and region as two large secular child-exploitation rings:
A. The John David Norman network (1960s–1990s) B. The North Fox Island operation (1974–1976)
There is no evidence in any law-enforcement file, court record, or credible investigative report linking Fr. Kunz, the Diocese of Madison, or any Wisconsin or Illinois priest to either ring.
Both rings, however, exploited the same systemic weaknesses Kunz criticized: lax background checks, unquestioned access to minors through “mentorship” or camp programs, and a broader cultural deference to adult authority figures in the 1970s and 1980s.
4: Occult Rumors — Explicitly Unsubstantiated
Because Fr. Kunz performed Church-sanctioned exorcisms, some traditionalist Catholic writers and online commentators have claimed his murder was a “ritual killing” tied to alleged satanic infiltration of the clergy.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office has stated on multiple occasions (1998–2025) that no evidence of ritualistic or occult activity was found at the crime scene. Detectives have described the killing as personal in nature.
No official Church document or law-enforcement record supports the satanic-ritual theory.
Chapter 5: Echoes in the Heartland — Patterns Later Confirmed by Official Reports
State-level investigations eventually documented the same administrative practices Kunz had criticized decades earlier. In the Chicago Archdiocese, for instance, investigations identified around 275 credibly accused clerics and more than 1,000 estimated victims, with patterns of internal handling and transfers without police notification. Similar findings emerged in Milwaukee (around 100 accused clerics, over 500 victims), Rockford (around 24 accused, over 100 victims), and Springfield, Illinois (around 32 accused, over 200 victims).
Common findings across these reports: internal handling of allegations, transfers without police notification, and minimization of complaints to protect institutional reputation.
Kunz’s public writings and RCF’s work in the 1990s identified these patterns before most state investigations began (my opinion).
Epilogue: Toward Daylight
Twenty-seven years later, Fr. Kunz’s murder remains unsolved. The systemic failures he documented have been extensively confirmed by subsequent official investigations, though thousands of survivors across the Midwest still await full accountability.
The case is active. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dane County Sheriff’s Office at (608) 284-6900 or submit tips at danesheriff.com.
I am a collateral victim of John David Norman - we are healing together.
I do hope this helps others realize they were not ever alone.
If any information is incorrect pls contact me or leave a comment. These are complex cases and a lot of bad information is already out there.
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