A priest who was sent to jail for abusing an 8-year-old boy will be deported to Bolivia, law enforcement authorities said.
Alejandro Flores, a former priest with the Diocese of Joliet, said he wouldn’t appeal the deportation ruling, United Press International reported. He has been placed in the custody of immigration agents and is in the process of being removed from the priesthood.
His fall from grace was a dramatic one. Nine years ago, the Joliet Diocese actively recruited him to go to Chicago.
“We have zero say over [his deportation, but] certainly wouldn’t help [him],” diocese spokesman Edward Flavin told UPI. “We’re totally against him. He is restricted from any sort of public ministry.”
Flores tried to kill himself after pleading guilty to molesting the boy over a span of five years, starting in 2005. He served four years in prison; in return, prosecutors dropped an investigation into abuse charges claimed by another child from the same family.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.