By Josh Stockinger
Daily Herald
March 11, 2010
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=365342
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| Alejandro Flores |
A Catholic priest charged with molesting a St. Charles boy has asked a judge to reduce his $1 million bond so he can receive treatment in Maryland.
Attorneys for Alejandro Flores, 37, said in a court filing that the Diocese of Joliet would arrange for the Bolivian-born priest to receive unspecified inpatient services at St. Luke's Treatment Facility in Baltimore should he be released from police custody. The filing calls his current, $1 million bond "unreasonable and egregious."
Flores, who faces up to 67 years in prison if convicted, is charged with seven felonies accusing him of sexually assaulting the boy over five years, beginning when the child was 8 years old.
Flores' motion for bond reduction says he was orphaned at a young age and came to the United States in 2004 to study at Sacred Heart Seminary in Milwaukee, Wis.
He was ordained in June 2009 and most recently worked as a parochial vicar at Holy Family Parish in Shorewood, though the allegations stem from his time as a seminarian at St. Mary's Parish in West Chicago.
"The defendant has numerous ties to the community in both Will and DuPage counties," according to the motion. "The defendant will be responsible for his own transportation to and from court and will appear when required to do so."
Flores' attorney, Glenn Sowa, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The motion says Flores has no assets and no prior criminal history. He is not a U.S. citizen but he has already surrendered his passport, the motion says.
Kane County Judge T. Jordan Gallagher is scheduled to hear the request Wednesday.
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