CHICAGO — An attorney and victims of sexual abuse by a Chicago Catholic priest on Thursday urged Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to keep the defrocked priest locked up.

Daniel McCormack is committed indefinitely under a state law that allows sex offenders to be held in custody beyond their sentences if a judge finds they are substantially likely to re-offend.

“Daniel McCormack as a priest is a serial predator and has been incarcerated for some years,” victims’ advocate and attorney Jeff Anderson said. “We do know that he’s already sentenced scores, if not hundreds, of kids to a lifetime of suffering and we have to do everything today to prevent that from happening to others.”

A three-judge panel of the Illinois First District Appellate Court ruled last week Cook County prosecutors failed to prove McCormack’s mental disorder would likely cause him to re-offend. McCormack completed his five-year sentence in 2009 for molesting five boys in Chicago’s St. Agatha’s Roman Catholic parish. He has been in state custody since.

A spokeswoman with the attorney general’s office said they plan to take up McCormack’s case.

“We disagree with the appellate court’s decision and believe Daniel McCormack qualifies for commitment under the Sexually Violent Persons Act,” Annie Thompson said Thursday. “We intend to seek further review by the Illinois Supreme Court.”

An internal report by the Archdiocese of Chicago found 30 “substantiated” claims of abuse at the hands of McCormack The Archdiocese of Chicago has paid $10 million to settle lawsuits involving claims against McCormack.