By Adam Kovac
Chicago Daily Herald
July 8, 2008
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=216383
Former Geneva priest Mark Campobello was released from a state prison Tuesday after serving about three months for a parole violation, authorities said.
Campobello, 43, had been imprisoned since mid-April, when he was arrested after making three unauthorized stops during a trip away from his home.
He was released from prison Tuesday morning to serve the remainder of his parole, said Januari Smith, an Illinois prison system spokeswoman.
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| Ex-Geneva priest paroled again |
In mid-February, Campobello, who had been posted at Geneva's St. Peter Catholic Church, was paroled after serving about 3 years in prison for molesting two teenage girls.
He pleaded guilty in 2004 to abusing the girls in 1999 and 2000. The incidents took place in the Geneva church and Aurora Central Catholic High School, where he also was a teacher.
Although the Vatican expelled Campobello while he was in prison, the allegations fractured the parish and led to a legal battle with the Rockford Diocese.
The diocese later apologized to the two victims, now adults, and paid more than $2 million to settle lawsuits that held church leaders responsible for Campobello's actions.
Campobello was paroled earlier this year without fanfare and, according to Illinois' sex offender registry, moved to 6418 Vermont Trail, in his native Crystal Lake.
Even though Campobello completed the trip in the allotted time, the unauthorized stops still constituted a violation of his parole, according to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
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