UPDATE:: Ex-Aurora priest charged with child abuse, facing deportation won't have to register as sex offender in plea deal
A former Aurora priest who was charged with sexually abusing two young girls pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor that does not require him to register as a sex offender.
Even if it did, he'd still face deportation to his native Colombia — one of the reasons his trial had been rescheduled so many times. Set for Feb. 20, the trial was likely about to be pushed again, according to a recent court order and the priest's lawyer.
Alfredo Pedraza Arias was sentenced to 205 days in county jail with credit for time served after his guilty plea. With credit for time already spent in jail, Arias was set to be released Saturday morning, Attorney David Camic said.
Kane County jail records showed Arias was released as scheduled on Saturday at 7:07 a.m., and, Kane County Sheriff spokesman Lt. Patrick Gengler confirmed that he was released to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities.
A Kane County investigator in a former Aurora priest's sex abuse case may have destroyed some notes while withholding others, according to the former priest's lawyer, who is seeking information about the investigator's recent resignation from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.
Alfredo Pedraza Arias, 51, is scheduled for a November trial on felony charges he sexually abused and assaulted two young girls between 2012 and 2014 while a priest at Sacred Heart Church in Aurora. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include multiple counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Immigration officials revoked the temporary religious worker visa for Arias, who is from Colombia. His trial has been repeatedly delayed while he faces deportation. Prosecutors have accused Arias of trying to use his deportation to avoid trial.
_Alfredo Pedraza Arias, the former Aurora priest charged with fondling two young girls, has been detained by immigration officials and faces deportation to his native Colombia, court records show.
Arias, 50, has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving the girls who were under the age of 6 at the time of the incidents at Sacred Heart Church in Aurora which occurred between 2012 and 2014, according to Kane County prosecutors.
UPDATE:: Bail set at $50,000 for priest accused of molesting girls in Aurora_
Bail was set at $50,000 for a priest, who was previously affiliated with two Aurora-area parishes, accused of molesting girls in Kane County.
The Rev. Alfredo Pedraza Arias, 49, was arrested by Kane County sheriff's deputies and the U.S. Marshals Service on a warrant at his Rockford residence Thursday. He appeared at Kane County's bond call Friday morning.
Pedraza Arias, recently of the 200 block of High Street in Aurora, is charged with two Class 2 felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor under age 13.
A priest who has been affiliated with two Aurora parishes was arrested Thursday on two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor, a Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford press release stated.
Kane County Sheriff's deputies and the U.S. Marshal's office took the Rev. Alfredo Pedraza into custody on a warrant at his Rockford residence, said Patrick Gengler, director of administration for the sheriff's office.
Pedraza is charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 13, the release stated.
Each count is a felony, Kane County prosecutors said. Pedraza is expected at bond call Friday morning at the Kane County Judicial Center.
The Kane County Child Advocacy Center conducted the investigation, but the Kane County State's Attorney has not released further information.
Priest with connection to Aurora parishes charged with sexual abuse - Aurora Beacon-News
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