Lower Bail Rejected for Priest Accused of Sexual Assault on Boy

A Kane County judge Thursday rejected lower bail for a Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old St. Charles boy.

Judge T. Jordan Gallagher shot down the motion sought by the Rev. Alejandro Flores, who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail following his January arrest on seven felony counts. Flores, 37, is accused of assaulting the boy in 2005. At the time, Flores was a seminarian assigned to a West Chicago parish.

Flores' attorney, Glenn Sowa, sought a $20,000 cash bond that would have allowed Flores to be released and to travel to a Maryland psychiatric facility that treats priests, nuns and other religious workers.

Flores had been assigned to a church in Shorewood. After accusations against him surfaced, Flores in January fell from a Joliet church choir loft in what police and church officials characterized as a suicide attempt. The Diocese of Joliet has offered to pay for his treatment and for his travel to Maryland and back to Kane County for court appearances.

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