Defrocked Alabama priest returns to US after taking 18-year-old girl to Italy, archdiocese says
A Roman Catholic priest in Alabama who was suspended after abandoning his parish to leave the country with a teenage girl last summer has since returned to the U.S., the archdiocese announced last week.
Alex Crow, 30, left Corpus Christi Parish in Mobile at the end of July to travel with an 18-year-old recent graduate of McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. The archdiocese said they are "relieved" amid "numerous individuals and media reports" indicating that the two have since come back, the archdiocese said in a Nov. 6 statement.
The relationship between Crow and the teen — whose name has been left out of media reports at her family's request — prompted four separate investigations by her family, the Archdiocese of Mobile, the Mobile County Sheriff's Office, and the Mobile County District Attorney's Office, according to OSV News.
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Accusing him of abandoning his assignment, the archdiocese released a statement in July accusing Crow of behavior "totally unbecoming of a priest," adding that he had been informed that he was no longer permitted to "exercise ministry as a priest, nor to tell people he is a priest, nor to dress as a priest."
Shortly after the two departed for Italy, a family member of the teen located her there, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office announced last summer, according to AL.com.
Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood's office announced last week that they would not be pressing charges against Crow and that they have since closed the investigation that began at the request of the archdiocese after the teen first disappeared with him, according to a statement reported by CBS affiliate WKRG.
The DA's office explained their decision to close the investigation came after they subpoenaed the teen when she returned. They said investigators also interviewed more than 30 witnesses, pored over thousands of pages of documents, and spoke to many "concerned citizens in the community."
When they interviewed the teen, investigators noted that she "appeared in seemingly good health and said that she is safe," but that she and her attorney declined to answer questions.
"Without being able to speak with the young lady about these events, we do not have sufficient admissible evidence to charge a crime at this time. Therefore, this investigation is currently closed," the DA's office said, adding that it would be inappropriate to answer "any questions about a private relationship between two now-adults."
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch has previously suggested that Crow's relationship with the girl extended to before she was 18, and his office released a love letter that Crow allegedly penned to her on Valentine's Day this year, when she was still underage.
"It screams pedophile to me," Burch said of the letter in August, according to WPMI. "I’ll just say it like it is."
Burch also claimed that Crow, who used to perform in a rock band, was interested in demons and exorcisms, and might have taken the teen to Italy to receive one, according to The Daily Mail.
Regarding where the case now stands, a spokesperson for the Mobile County Sheriff's Office told The Christian Post on Monday that "based on all evidence that we have discovered thus far, there are no criminal charges coming from the Mobile County Sheriff's Office."
"However, if anyone has any 'new' information, we will document and investigate if need be," the sheriff's office added.
The archdiocese acknowledged last week that while Crow's behavior was "scandalous," they likewise had no indication that the defrocked priest had committed a crime.
"To the extent law enforcement is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding Crow's behavior, the Archdiocese will continue to cooperate fully," the archdiocese said, adding that "Crow's sudden departure created scandal, hurt and confusion within the Archdiocese. We continue to pray for God's grace to bring healing to this situation for everyone."
The archdiocese said Crow has not contacted anyone there, but noted that he remains barred from celebrating Mass, visiting Catholic school grounds, or leading any church ministries, and encouraged anyone who saw him doing so to alert them.
Questions that have swirled around the Crow situation prompted an online petition in September urging for the removal of Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi, who has led the archdiocese since 2008.
In an Oct. 6 statement responding to the online petition, which has garnered more than 16,000 signatures as of Monday, the archdiocese cautioned that "reaction to a 'local' petition is not necessarily restricted to local response and is quite likely to elicit response from those nationally, and even globally, that may have other unrelated grievances."
While expressing sympathy for those who are concerned, the archdiocese claimed that "school and parish officials have responded to every complaint of misconduct with the full force of the office within — and with respect for — canon and civil laws."
"Archbishop Rodi has said before, and reiterates again, that when he came to Mobile 15 years ago, he could not guarantee there would be no cases of sexual misconduct, but he did guarantee that it would not be tolerated," the statement continued. "He has kept that promise and continues to honor it."
The archdiocese added that they reported Crow's departure with the young graduate to law enforcement immediately "out of an abundance of caution."
A spokesperson for the archdiocese told CP that they had nothing further to add beyond the statements they have already made.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to [email protected]
