Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Fr. George H. Hiland

This page outlines the assignments, credible allegations of child sexual abuse, and institutional actions involving Fr. George H. Hiland, as part of the Injury Lawyer Team’s legal representation of survivors in Illinois clergy abuse cases.

• Primary Entity Name: George H. Hiland
• Common Variations / Aliases: Father George Hiland, Fr. George Hiland, George Hiland
• Role/Title at Time of Incident: Catholic Priest; Parish Priest
• Current Status: Removed from Public Ministry

Public Identification and Clergy Status

Fr. George H. Hiland was publicly identified as a credibly accused Catholic priest by Church authorities and state investigators following reviews of historical abuse allegations. His name appears in official disclosures released by the Catholic Diocese of Peoria and in the Illinois Attorney General’s statewide investigation into clergy sexual abuse.

According to public diocesan announcements, Fr. Hiland was required to step down from public ministry following a review of abuse allegations. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office later included him in its public reporting on clergy accused of sexual abuse in Illinois, based on information provided by dioceses and survivor reports.

Entity that Listed Him: Catholic Diocese of Peoria; Illinois Attorney General’s Office

Reason for Listing: Credible allegations of child sexual abuse identified through diocesan review processes and included in statewide investigative reporting.

Key Status Facts

• Ordination Year: 1958
• Years in Active Parish Ministry: 1958–1993
• Locations Where He Served: Diocese of Peoria, Illinois
• Restrictions: Removed from active ministry in 1993; no public ministry permitted following later review
• Removal / Resignation / Reassignment: Removed from active ministry in 1993; entered senior (retirement) status in 1994
• Laicization: Not publicly disclosed in diocesan or state records
• Public Disclosure / Listing Date: Publicly listed by the Catholic Diocese of Peoria in November 2018

Assignment History

Primary Diocese: Catholic Diocese of Peoria

Parish Assignments (as documented in public records):
Publicly available diocesan disclosures, investigative reporting, and state summaries identify Fr. George H. Hiland as having served in multiple parish assignments within the Diocese of Peoria, including:

• Saint Stephen Catholic Church – Streator, IL
• Saint Patrick Catholic Church – Arlington, IL
• Sacred Heart Mission – Dimmick, IL
• Saint Thomas Catholic Church – Dalzell, IL
• Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church – Fairbury, IL
• Saint James Mission – Forrest, IL
• Saint Patrick Catholic Church – Dwight, IL

These parish assignments establish the institutional and geographic settings relevant to the allegations later reviewed by diocesan authorities and state investigators.

Early and Transitional Roles: No separate seminary training placements or transitional assignments beyond standard diocesan priestly formation have been publicly documented.

Non-Church Assignments: No publicly disclosed non-church institutional assignments (such as hospitals, schools, or religious orders outside the Diocese of Peoria) are listed for Fr. Hiland in diocesan or Illinois Attorney General materials.

Known Allegations

Fr. George H. Hiland has been accused of sexually abusing minors while serving as a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria. Public reporting and state investigative materials describe allegations involving abuse in Illinois, including LaSalle County, across more than one period.

According to the Illinois Attorney General’s survivor narrative, one survivor reported that abuse began in the mid-1960s, when the child was in seventh grade and serving as an altar server at Saint Stephen Catholic Church in Streator, Illinois. The narrative describes a pattern in which the priest gave the child special attention, arranged time alone with him, and then engaged in repeated sexual abuse over an extended period.

Separately, diocesan records referenced by investigators indicate that in 1993, Fr. Hiland was accused of abusing a child during the 1970s and admitted to abusing a second minor. State summaries list two reported survivors and identify one reported date of abuse as 1970 in LaSalle County, Illinois.

The Diocese of Peoria has stated that allegations involving Fr. Hiland were reviewed through its internal processes and deemed credible, resulting in his removal from active ministry.

Summary: Public records and diocesan disclosures describe credible allegations that Fr. George H. Hiland sexually abused minors in Illinois during the 1960s and 1970s, including abuse connected to Saint Stephen Catholic Church in Streator and other parish settings within the Diocese of Peoria.

Overseeing Authorities During Key Periods (Diocese of Peoria):

• Bishop William E. Cousins (1959–1970)
• Bishop John Baptist Franz (1971–1990)
• Bishop John J. Myers (1990–2001)

Legal / Investigative Bodies Referenced: Illinois Attorney General’s Office (statewide clergy abuse investigation and public reporting)

Institutional Actions and Review

Public records indicate that the Catholic Diocese of Peoria first formally documented allegations involving Fr. George H. Hiland in 1993, decades after the earliest reported abuse occurred. Available diocesan and state investigative materials do not show that formal action was taken at the time of the alleged misconduct in the 1960s or early 1970s.

In 1993, diocesan leadership recorded allegations involving at least one minor and an admission by Fr. Hiland to abusing a second. That same year, he was removed from active ministry. A subsequent letter from diocesan leadership acknowledged his resignation from parish leadership and noted unresolved issues that required counseling and evaluation before any future priestly ministry could be considered.

Public summaries do not indicate that allegations were reported to law enforcement at the time they were documented in 1993. Fr. Hiland remained out of active ministry for many years before the Diocese of Peoria publicly disclosed his name.

In November 2018, the Diocese of Peoria released a list of clergy required to step down from public ministry following internal reviews, which included Fr. Hiland. His name was later included in the Illinois Attorney General’s statewide investigation and placed on the list of accused clergy in Illinois.

Public disclosure, therefore, occurred decades after the alleged abuse and many years after Fr. Hiland had already been removed from active ministry.

Timeline

1958 — Ordained as a priest for the Catholic Diocese of Peoria

1958–1993 — Served in parish ministry assignments within the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois

Mid-1960s — Survivor reports abuse beginning while serving as an altar server at Saint Stephen Catholic Church in Streator, Illinois

Circa 1970 — Additional reported abuse occurred in LaSalle County, Illinois

1993 — Diocese of Peoria first formally documented allegations; Fr. Hiland was removed from active ministry

1994 — Entered senior (retirement) status

November 2018 — Publicly listed by the Catholic Diocese of Peoria following internal review; required to step down from public ministry

2023 — Included in the Illinois Attorney General’s statewide report on clergy sexual abuse

Speak With an Attorney

If you or someone you know was sexually abused by Fr. George H. Hiland or another Catholic clergy member in Illinois, you may still have legal options. The Injury Lawyer Team represents survivors of clergy abuse throughout the state and offers confidential consultations to discuss potential claims.

Contact our team to speak with an experienced Illinois clergy abuse attorney and learn more about your rights and available legal paths forward.

Sources and Public Records

This page is based on public records, official Church disclosures, and survivor reports, including the following:

• The Illinois Attorney General’s Narrative Report on George H. Hiland, which details survivor accounts, diocesan knowledge, and the handling of allegations involving Fr. Hiland.
• The Illinois Attorney General’s Clergy Abuser List entry for George H. Hiland, which provides ordination details, reported survivors, assignment locations, dates of reported abuse, and diocesan action history.
• The BishopAccountability.org profile for George H. Hiland, which compiles diocesan disclosures, investigative reporting, and publicly available records related to allegations and institutional responses.

No criminal conviction is implied unless explicitly stated in public court records or official Church reports.

All content undergoes thorough legal review by experienced attorneys, including Jonathan Rosenfeld. With 25 years of experience in personal injury law and over 100 years of combined legal expertise within our team, we ensure that every article is legally accurate, compliant, and reflects current legal standards.