BishopAccountability.org
	Accused Priest Pleads Not Guilty to New Charges By Brenda Schory Kane County Chronicle May 1, 2010 http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2010/05/01/09455409/index.xml A Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting a St. Charles boy pleaded not guilty Friday on new charges that he attempted to abuse the boy’s brother. The Rev. Alejandro Flores, 37, answered a 16-count grand jury indictment, which included the additional nine charges. The indictment includes counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, indecent solicitation of a child and attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Flores, who most recently served at Holy Family Parish in Shorewood, was first arrested in January after St. Charles police received reports that he assaulted the boy multiple times during a five-year period. During the abuse, Flores served at St. Mary’s in West Chicago. Flores is being held in Kane County Jail on $1 million bond. His attorney Glenn Sowa, said the additional charges are not a surprise. “It was not unexpected,” Sowa said. Members of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests – SNAP – sat in court sporting buttons stating, “Children First.” Mary Lu O’Halloran and Kate Bochte of Geneva and Therese Albrecht of Chicago said they wanted to be in court to support the victims of Flores’ alleged abuse. Albrecht displayed a photo of her first communion. “I was raped and sodomized for years by the time this photo was taken,” Albrecht said. “By my parish priest and a nun who helped him.” O’Halloran displayed a tiny pair of toddler’s sneakers, saying priests have been known to molest children this young. “This is global,” O’Halloran said. “We want our kids to be safe.” Bochte said she has been to churches that held rallies to support priests accused of abuse. “No way would a victim feel comfortable coming forward in that environment,” Bochte said. Flores’s next court date is May 28. Contact: bschory@kcchronicle.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.