Former Arlington Heights priest pleads guilty to child pornography
A former associate pastor at an Arlington Heights church pleaded guilty to child pornography charges.
Clovis Vilchez-Parra, formerly of Mission San Juan Diego, was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday in exchange for pleading guilty to possession of child pornography, court records show.
Vilchez-Parra, 36, received credit for 460 days in custody. He was also ordered to pay $1,654 in fines.
The Palatine resident was arrested in February 2015 following an undercover investigation by the Cook County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force into individuals downloading child pornography. Palatine, Bartlett and Chicago police departments cooperated with the investigation, according to prosecutors.
Chicago Archdiocese officials removed Vilchez-Parra from ministry, including his duties at Mission San Juan Diego, following his arrest.
"The archdiocese has cooperated fully with the civil authorities and will continue to do so," spokeswoman Colleen Tunney-Ryan said in an email.
A native of Peru, Vilchez-Parra moved to the United States in 2007. He was ordained in 2012 at Mundelein Seminary, according to Catholic New World newspaper online archives.
At the time of his arrest, Vilchez-Parra had worked at the Arlington Heights church about 18 months. Before that, he served as associate pastor at Our Lady of Mercy parish in Chicago.
During a search of Vilchez-Parra's home, which is owned by the Chicago Archdiocese, officers recovered from his laptop files of "underage children engaged in acts of sexual conduct," prosecutors said during his bond hearing.
A spokeswoman from the Office of the Cook County state's attorney said there was no indication children from either parish were depicted in the videos.