The Midwest Child Exploitation Pipeline - Part 3 From Rockford to Des Moines, Gacy to the Paperboys (1960s–1980s)

 The Midwest Child Exploitation Pipeline - Part 3

From Rockford to Des Moines, Gacy to the Paperboys (1960s–1980s)

Continued from  Midwest Child Exploitation Pipeline continues - Part 2

The rot did not stay in Milwaukee or Chicago. It spread south and west through factory towns and prairie dioceses, relying on the same mechanisms everywhere: secret files, reassignments, fraternal youth programs, and isolated venues. No court or grand jury has ever found evidence of one coordinated network—only the same broken safeguards repeated town after town. Those tiny, naked to the eye, invisible silk threads. 

TIMELINE: The Web Expands — Illinois to Iowa (1960s–1980s)

1960s: Secrecy Systems Take Hold

Catholic dioceses create “confidential files.” Boy Scouts councils (Blackhawk–Rockford, Heart of Illinois–Peoria, Mid-Iowa–Des Moines) reports suggest volunteers begin ineligible-volunteer logs. Knights of Columbus and Jaycees sponsor youth events.

Rockford: Fr. William Joffe — credibly accused of abusing a boy at St. Patrick Parish (Dixon) in the 1960s; first report received 1993 (Illinois AG Report 2023).

Peoria: Fr. Robert Hughes (Holy Trinity, Bloomington) and Fr. Edward Bush (St. Thomas, Peoria Heights) later listed for 1950s–1960s abuse (Diocese of Peoria list / civil suits).

Des Moines: Fr. Francis Zuch and Fr. Dennis Mangan — credible allegations spanning elementary assignments (Diocese of Des Moines 2019 list).

BSA: Early “perversion files” in all three councils (e.g., Robert M. Haber, Rockford Troop 465, flagged 1969).

1964–1968: Gacy’s Iowa Prototype

In Waterloo, Iowa (100 miles east of Des Moines), John Wayne Gacy rises in the Jaycees, earning “Outstanding Vice-President” and “Man of the Year.” He uses teen parties and “mentoring” to gain access.

1968: Convicted of sodomizing 15-year-old Donald Voorhees; sentenced to 10 years.

Paroled after 18 months despite additional complaints (Iowa Board of Parole records).

1970–1979: Peak Predation

The John Jay College report later identifies this decade as the national high point for reported institutional child sexual abuse.

Rockford: Deacon Harlan Clapsaddle (ordained 1977) sexually abuses three brothers he met at St. James Parish (Illinois AG Report 2023).

Peoria: Fr. John Anderson grooms altar boys at St. Philomena; credible accusations later confirmed by diocese.

Des Moines: Fr. Francis Zuch remains in assignments involving children; credible allegations cover decades.

BSA: Numerous Midwest volunteers quietly removed after reports of molestation on camping trips (released perversion files).

Chicago: After parole, Gacy begins killing in 1972; 33 bodies recovered by 1978.

1980–1989: Cracks Appear, Vanishings Shock the Nation

Despite the 1985 Gauthe scandal in Louisiana, Midwest dioceses still rely on internal teams and quiet reassignments.

1982–1984: The Paperboy Abductions

September 5, 1982 – Johnny Gosch, 12, disappears on his West Des Moines Register route.

August 12, 1984 – Eugene Martin, 13, disappears on his south-side Des Moines Register route.

Both cases remain unsolved. Their photos launch the milk-carton campaign and help create the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in 1984.

1984: Des Moines Register circulation employee Frank Sykora fired; later pleads guilty to sexual contact with as many as seven paperboys (Polk County court records).

1988–1989: Franklin Credit Union Scandal (Nebraska)

Allegations of an elite child-abuse ring surface. State and federal grand juries find no evidence substantiating an organized trafficking network (though financial crimes result in convictions).

PATTERNS — No Cabal, Just Repeated Failure

Multiple grand juries and state attorneys general (Illinois 2023, Iowa reviews, Nebraska 1990) reach the same conclusion: no proof of a single coordinated ring. What they document instead is a pattern of systemic failure:

Secret files (church and BSA) kept law enforcement in the dark for decades.

Reassignments, treatment centers, and lenient paroles moved predators instead of removing them.

Fraternal and civic groups (Jaycees, Knights, Scout councils) provided unmonitored access.

Isolated venues — rectory sleepovers, Scout camps, dawn paper routes — eliminated witnesses.

Economic hardship left working-class boys the least protected and the least believed.

Rockford → Peoria → Des Moines → Waterloo → Chicago → back to Des Moines.

A tightening spiral of missed chances and silenced voices.

The web didn’t need a mastermind.

It only needed everyone to keep looking away.

Survivors & families: RAINN 1-800-656-HOPE

Author's Note: I am disabled survivor using assistive technology, which changes day by day pending health - (#zebralife). For resources : RAINN or Support for Men at 1in6.org are lifelines.

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.