A priest who authorities say hurled himself from a church balcony after he was accused of molesting a boy was charged Wednesday with seven felonies, including predatory criminal sexual assault. The Rev. Alejandro Flores, 37, was also charged with four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and two counts of criminal sexual assault for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old boy at a West Chicago church where Flores was posted as a seminarian, according to the Kane County State's Attorney's office.
The state's attorney's office said Flores abused a St. Charles child over a five-year period between Jan. 1, 2005 and Jan 1, 2010. The child was younger than 13 when the abuse started, authorities said.
Flores was released from the hospital Wednesday and was in the custody of Kane County authorities, according to the state's attorney's office. He was expected to be booked into the county jail Wednesday afternoon and to appear before a judge Thursday afternoon.
A Kane County grand jury indicted Flores last week, though the indictment remained sealed until local authorities took him into custody.
His bond was set at $1 million, State's Atty. John Barsanti said. Flores must surrender his passport should he post bond.
The Bolivian-born priest had been hospitalized after reportedly trying to kill himself by leaping from the balcony
On Jan. 6, two days after the Joliet diocese placed Flores on leave from a Shorewood church when the abuse allegations surfaced, Flores fell 20 feet to the floor at St. Mary's Carmelite Church in Joliet.
He was found unconscious, lying on the floor between a row of pews and taken to a hospital in critical condition. Both police and church officials characterized it as a suicide attempt.
Flores was ordained in June. The abuse allegations stemmed from Flores' time as a seminarian at St. Mary's Catholic Church in West Chicago, authorities said.
The church's pastor, the Rev. John Balluff, addressed the issue in the parish's weekly bulletin last Sunday, urging any parishioner with additional abuse allegations to immediately contact law enforcement.
"We will always be committed to doing everything possible to protect children, to help this child and his family and to help bring about healing for our families and the people of the diocese," Balluff wrote.
At a news conference earlier this month, Joliet Bishop J. Peter Sartain publicly apologized to the alleged victim and his family. There were no previous abuse allegations against Flores, the bishop said.
The state's attorney's office also asked anyone with possible information to contact the Kane County Child Advocacy Center at (630) 208-5160.
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