Convicted Pedophile Priest Deported To Bolivia
(STMW) -- A former west suburban Catholic priest who attempted to commit suicide after being charged with sexually molesting a young boy for five years was deported to Bolivia on Tuesday.
Alejandro Flores, 40, a Bolivian native, was repatriated to La Paz, Bolivia, on Tuesday via commercial aircraft, according to a statement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In 2004, Flores, a priest in the Diocese of Joliet, befriended a then-7-year-old boy while a seminarian at St. Mary's Church in West Chicago, and had repeated sexual contact with him over a five-year period. In June 2009, Flores was ordained and sent to Holy Family Church in Shorewood to serve as parochial vicar.
In January 2010, the victim's family notified police, who began an investigation and contacted the diocese. Flores was suspended, but disappeared the morning he was scheduled to meet with investigators.
Later that day, he attempted to commit suicide by leaping from the choir loft of the closed St. Mary's Carmelite Church in Joliet. Flores survived and was indicted on 16 counts of sexual assault and abuse in Kane County.
In September 2010, he pleaded guilty to one count of criminal sexual assault and the other charges were dropped.
Flores was released from prison on June 7 and turned over to ICE. The Diocese said Flores was permanently removed from the priesthood upon his release.
He was deported Tuesday as a criminal alien convicted of an aggravated felony, and is barred from entering the United States for life, according to ICE.
