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	Pastor's Bail Hiked in Rape Case By Gary Murray Massachusetts May 26, 2010 http://www.telegram.com/article/20100526/NEWS/5260439/1101/raw_headlines Bail was increased yesterday for the pastor of a Leominster church charged with having sex with a 13-year-old female parishioner. The Rev. Angel Morales, 32, of 1A Goddard St., Fitchburg, pleaded not guilty Monday in Worcester Superior Court to three counts of child rape aggravated by age difference, a charge carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment upon conviction. Assistant District Attorney Anthony J. Marotta told Judge John T. Lu that Rev. Morales was accused of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl whose family attended the church. The girl's mother identified the church as Casa de Restauracion at 134 Spruce St., Leominster. Mr. Marotta said Rev. Morales was charged after an investigation that began when the girl's parents caught her sneaking into her bedroom window during the early morning hours. Mr. Marotta said Rev. Morales later admitted to the girl's mother and to police that he had sex with the girl in a hotel room. The alleged rapes occurred on three separate occasions from mid-November through early January in Leominster. Rev. Morales was indicted April 21, moving his case from Leominster District Court to Worcester Superior Court. A bail hearing was held yesterday after Mr. Marotta asked Judge Lu to increase Rev. Morales' bail from $5,000 cash, the amount set when his case was pending in Leominster District Court, to $25,000 cash. The prosecutor said his request was based, in part, on the mandatory minimum sentence Rev. Morales is now facing. In Leominster District Court, Rev. Morales was charged with statutory rape, which does not carry a mandatory minimum sentence. Mr. Marotta also told the judge that photographs appearing on Rev. Morales' Facebook page as recently as May 12 suggested his failure to comply with a condition of his release requiring him to have no contact with children under age 16. The prosecutor said the photographs showed the defendant squirting four or five young girls in bathing suits with a garden hose. Rev. Morales' lawyer, Leonard J. Staples, said the photographs in question depicted two of Rev. Morales' own children and two children of one of his neighbors. He said his client had not been performing any of his clerical duties because to do so would put him in contact with children. Mr. Staples said Rev. Morales was under GPS monitoring and had made every court date in his case. He asked that the bail remain at the previously posted amount of $5,000. Judge Lu increased the bail to $5,500 and said he was doing so because of the photographs introduced by Mr. Marotta. The judge continued Rev. Morales' case to June 21. Rev. Morales was placed in the courthouse lockup and released from custody later in the day after the additional $500 bail was posted on his behalf. Contact: gmurray@telegram.com
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