MINNESOTA
Fairmont Sentinel

June 18, 2013

Jodelle Greiner , Fairmont Sentinel

BLUE EARTH – Father Leo Charles Koppala will remain in the Faribault County Jail after District Judge Douglas Richards ordered more information on his immigration status and refused to lower his bail during a hearing Monday at Faribault County Law Enforcement Center.

Koppala, who was serving as the priest for Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Blue Earth, has been charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct. The charges stem from an incident June 7 in which Koppala allegedly engaged in sexual conduct with a child under 13 years of age, with the defendant being more than 36 months older than the child. Charges allege that Koppala, 47, fondled the child while visiting a home where the child was staying.

Koppala, a native of India, was provided an interpreter to translate the questions from English to the dialect…