CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
Oct. 9, 2019
By Kevin Grasha
A Hamilton County judge on Wednesday said bond for a priest accused of raping an altar boy 30 years ago will stay at $5 million.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Leslie Ghiz said her primary concern is that the Rev. Geoff Drew is a flight risk.
“Your client is charged with anally and orally raping a…child,” Ghiz told Drew’s attorney, Brandon Moermond. She added: “I’m more concerned about him fleeing, than anything else.”
Drew was not in the courtroom for the hearing. He is being held at the Hamilton County jail.
In August, Moermond filed a motion to modify Drew’s bond. Among his arguments was that Drew is a priest, has no criminal history, and has “extensive family in the area, including his ailing mother, his siblings and close family friends.”
Moermond also said Drew’s case has been handled differently than others because of media coverage. In his motion, Moermond said Ghiz had set Drew’s $5 million bond at a hearing “in front of no less than six television reporters and cameras.”
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