CHICAGO (CBS) – A former Chicago pastor accused of sexually abusing a minor has pleaded guilty to aggravated battery.
Two of his victims told CBS 2 they were frustrated when they discovered the pastor does not have to register as a sex offender, despite the pain they said they endured as children in his care.
“He offered to give us a ride and whoever was in the passenger seat, we just knew, OK, he’s going to touch me,” Catherine Park said.
Park met the man she said sexually abused her when she was 13 years old.
“I knew what was going to happen and that’s obviously not what I want for myself, so I sat all the way in the back of the van,” Park said. “As the kids left the van one by one, he asked me to go upstairs and get physically close to him.”
She said it started with a hug that was just too long. The hug came from Pastor John Kim, then youth pastor of Salvation Army Mayfair Community Church on Chicago’s Northwest Side.
“As soon as I showed any sign of discomfort, the immediate response was, ‘Oh, Pastor John is just very affectionate,’” Park said.
A Friday night youth group always ended in a dreaded car ride home, Park said.
“He usually starts with holding hands, which I thought was very inappropriate, and then he locked fingers with me,” Park said, adding that Kim “just rubbed a girl’s breast with the back of his hand. I I’ve seen it and it’s happened to me before.”
Kim worked at the same church for years.
“[His] parents are the founders,” Park said. “His sister was our Sunday school teacher. We just didn’t have an outlet to even convey these concerns.”
Park remained silent about the abuse for years. It wasn’t until an unthinkable situation arose decades later that pushed her to come forward.
“My brother and my sister-in-law now, without knowing that the pastor was abusing me, went to celebrate their wedding,” Park said.
She made an attempt to confront Kim and wrote him an email. She wrote: “You touched my crotch without my consent, intentionally and sexually, that night.”
He answered.
“I want to take full ownership of my past actions and say I was wrong,” he wrote. “My thoughts immediately go to another person to whom I also need to apologize.”
He was referring to Ellen Kim, who was 7 years old when she met Pastor Kim, no relation. She said the abuse started a few years later.
“Before I even knew sexual abuse existed, it became routine,” Ellen Kim said.
She said the validation in their shared experiences helped them file suit together in January 2023. Pastor Kim was charged with three counts of criminal sexual abuse of a minor. They described the alleged grooming, non-consensual touching and their struggles after the abuse ended in painful detail during their victim impact statements.
“I think I’ve always seen myself as ‘unlovable,’” Park said. “’I don’t deserve it because I’m infected,’ but that’s not my fault.”
Pastor Kim pleaded guilty to reduced charges of aggravated assault and, as part of the settlement, was not required to register as a sex offender.
Park said learning that was “a punch in the gut.”
“Our goal from the very beginning was to get him on the sex offender registry because that is the only legal safeguard that would have protected us growing up,” Ellen Kim said.
CBS 2 tried to find out why Pastor Kim was not required to register as a sex offender. CBS 2 legal analyst Irv Miller said Kim “still has a record of assaulting two young ladies, a misdemeanor.”
“This was a negotiated agreement between the prosecutor and the defense attorney in the case,” Miller said. “Sometimes you have to give a little to get something meaningful.”
CBS 2 attempted to contact Pastor Kim several times but was unable to reach him.
News reporter: “How were you able to find your own happiness after going through all this?”
Park: “During this journey I was able to find my voice and prove to me that I actually deserve that love that at one point I thought I couldn’t reserve.”
She and Ellen have found a new mission.
“Our goal is so that we can be a resource for other survivors,” Ellen Kim said. “Our stories are not the same, but at least knowing you’re not alone is very empowering.”
On Tuesday evening, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office released a statement saying in part that John Kim “was sentenced to two years of probation, community service with the Cook County Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program (SWAP) and was also ordered to complete a sex operation . evaluation of the perpetrator and recommendations for treatment. As a result of the plea agreement, the aggravated sexual abuse charges were dismissed in each case.”
