MOBILE (AL)
The Guardian [London, England]
August 18, 2023
By Ramon Antonio Vargas
Alex Crow was previously accused of acting inappropriately with students and remains under orders by archdiocese to return home
A Roman Catholic priest in Alabama who fled to Europe with a recent high school graduate whom he met through his work has drawn scrutiny from law enforcement and been told to stop presenting himself in public as a cleric.
Alex Crow, an expert in the theological study of demons and exorcism, is suspected of having “groomed [multiple] young girls” before going to Italy with an 18-year-old, according to an interview that local sheriff Paul Burch recently gave to Fox Nation’s Nancy Grace. The teen’s family has been trying to convince her to return home.
Burch has publicly released two letters written by Crow, 30, to support that assertion. In one of the letters to the teen, Crow described how he loved her and claimed that they were married. The Pillar, a Catholic news outlet, reported that the letter was for Valentine’s Day, when the girl was 17 and had not yet graduated from the parochial school where Crow had sat in on classes and met with students in the context of the sacrament known as confession.
The girl’s family members have said they are “extremely fearful” for her safety, according to an attorney who spoke to the local television station WKRG. Another local news outlet, al.com, reported that the girl’s family had gone to Italy to meet with her – but Crow wouldn’t allow her to be alone with her relatives. Federal officials in the US have been in talks with Italian authorities to help police investigators in Mobile, Alabama, interview the girl.
It’s unclear whether Crow could face charges in connection with the girl. Her family has acknowledged she went to Europe of her own free will, and the purpose of the trip with Crow hasn’t been confirmed, according to authorities.
While the age of sexual consent in Alabama is 16, there is a state law which prohibits a school employee from having sexual contact with a student younger than 18. There are also federal laws which prohibit using certain methods of communication to speak explicitly with someone who is younger than 18.
Additionally, Burch told Grace on her Crime Stories podcast that investigators had found another “young girl that [Crow] was previously acting inappropriately with, and he was ordered to stay away from her, and … we’re trying to get to come on board but she’s not exactly cooperating at the moment”.
The second teen was reportedly seen leaving Crow’s hotel room at about 1.30am during a school trip. Burch suggested to Grace that his deputies were examining whether Crow may have broken the law which prohibits sexual contact between school employees and students.
As of Friday, Crow remained under orders to return to Mobile and not work as a cleric, having been told by his archdiocese that he “abandoned his assignment”. The archdiocese also told him his behavior is “totally unbecoming of a priest”. Priests take a vow of celibacy, and Catholic officials have implemented guidelines which are meant to establish boundaries between clergymen and vulnerable adults amid the worldwide church’s decades-old clerical molestation.
He could face further archdiocesan consequences, but his case illustrates how it won’t be easy.
For that to process to even begin, Mobile’s archbishop, Thomas Rodi, would have to assemble a clerical panel to evaluate the allegations against Crow and weigh whether he deserves forceful removal from the priesthood. The process – governed by church law – could not start until the beginning of next year, according to WKRG’s reporting.
Rodi’s archdiocese said in a statement that it intends to seek Crow’s permanent removal from the clergy, which is an extremely rare measure. Rodi himself was a high-ranking administrator in the archdiocese of New Orleans in 2000 when the organization carbon-copied him on a letter welcoming back a priest to normal duties after having gone on a sabbatical because of his admitting to sexually molesting or harassing multiple children whom he met through work.
That priest, Lawrence Hecker, was never forcibly removed from the clergy, retired quietly in 2002 and has never been criminally prosecuted.
For his part, Crow is a graduate of the school where he met the girls he is accused of grooming, McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. He worked as a musician traveling around the US’s Gulf coast region before attending St Joseph Seminary & College in Covington, Louisiana, and Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana.
He was assigned to work as the pastor of Mobile’s Corpus Christi church after his ordination.
While maintaining a role at McGill-Toolen, parents at the school began complaining that there were rumors about how he would supply alcohol to children at bonfires, as reported by both Jezebel and the Lagniappe Mobile. Parents were also worried that Crow would purportedly perform exorcisms on and in the presence of students. They were additionally concerned that he had convinced one student that their home was spiritually possessed by demons.
Despite those complaints and the report that he was admonished over his contact with one teen girl, he was able to travel to Europe with students in June. In late July, he and the recent graduate of McGill-Toolen were found in Italy, and he indicated he would never return to the US.
The Mobile sheriff said Crow and the girl have no obvious means of financial support, and surmised they were counting on getting by from hospitality that might be offered by people in a largely Catholic country.
One of Crow’s fellow Alabama clergymen issued a statement this week on Facebook calling him “a bad man” whose approach to ministry was “incorrectly blaming things on demons” and who “created a cult of personality around himself”.
“It is good that his actions are being revealed, ugly and bizarre as they are,” read the statement from the priest Stephen Vrazel.
- In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International.