Bond Set at $50,000 for Priest Accused of Molesting Girls in Aurora

By Janelle Walker
Chicago Tribune
February 12, 2016

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/news/ct-ecn-priest-accused-of-sex-abuse-st-0214-20160212-story.html

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.

Authorities launched an investigation into Pedraza Arias after receiving reports of alleged abuse in 2014, according a release Thursday evening from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford. Pedraza Arias was asked to remove himself from all ministries, including the Hispanic Ministry in the DeKalb County Deanery, the release stated. He has not been active in any ministries since October 2014, the release said.