DUBUQUE (IA)
ABC 7 [Sarasota, FL]
May 21, 2024
By Jordan Litwiller
A $500,000 bond set for Charlotte County priest Leo Riley, following his initial appearance at the Dubuque County Courthouse has been posted. Sources tell ABC7 the bond was posted by Riley’s brother.
Riley is facing five counts of sexual abuse allegedly committed during his time as a priest in Iowa. Last month, a local victim came forward saying he was abused by Riley in Charlotte County.
“I buried these memories very deep but I couldn’t keep them buried forever,” said an alleged victim going by John Doe.
Father Leo Riley has not been charged in Charlotte County, but is back in Dubuque to answer to five counts of capital sexual battery related to reports in the 1980s.
Riley was a past priest at the Resurrection Church in Dubuque, Iowa. In Charlotte County, he was a Priest at Saint Charles Borromeo in Port Charlotte in the early 2000′s, and is currently assigned to San Antonio Catholic Church, also in Port Charlotte.
Following the revelation of the charges in Iowa, a former student at Saint Charles Borromeo school in Port Charlotte came forward to accused Riley of sexual abuse in the early 2000s. Riley was placed on administrative leave from the Diocese of Venice in 2023.
Riley was remanded into custody until bond was posted. Now that the full amount of bond has been posted, he will be required to stay in Iowa and will be moved to a Halfway House.
His attorney, Guy Cook, provided a statement to ABC7, “ Father Leo Riley has been release on bond in accordance with the bond terms set at the initial appearance of 500k cash. We still have a hearing our motion appealing the bond that the court set for 5/29 before Iowa District Court Judge Bitter. We also filed a supplemental motion on the bond appeal Since the charges filed were not the result of consideration and action by a grand jury issuing an indictment or a trial information filed by the county attorney, but rather merely a criminal complaint by the police officer, a preliminary hearing is held to determine probable cause for further proceedings to proceed.”