Bail hiked for former Aurora minister to stop deportation before sex abuse trial
The U.S. Justice Department's new policy of seeking to deport noncitizens who have pending criminal cases has prompted a Kane County judge to increase bond for a second time of a former Aurora minister accused of sexual abuse so he can stand trial in September.
Kane County Judge Linda Abrahamson increased bail by $100,000 Friday for Alfredo Pedraza-Arias, 50, of Rockford, who is accused of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of two girls younger than 13.
Pedraza-Arias is accused of sexually abusing one girl at her Aurora home and another in an office at Sacred Heart Church in Aurora. He left the ministry in October 2014 while the sex abuse case was investigated. If convicted, he faces up to 14 years in prison and lifetime registration as a sex offender.
David Camic, Pedraza-Arias' attorney, said his client had been free on bond since early 2016 and made every court appearance before Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him in early May after a court appearance in St. Charles.
Anderson increased Pedraza-Arias' bail by $100,0000 on July 5 and had him sent back to the Kane County jail, according to court records. Church parishioners posted $10,000 bond, and Pedraza-Arias was released from jail but rearrested by customs agents on July 24, records show.
Pedraza-Arias was to be deported on Monday to his native Colombia, so prosecutors on Friday sought to have his bail increased so he could be held at the Kane County jail and not deported before his trial, which is scheduled for Sept. 18.
"It's simply un-American that a person is told that if you post bond we're going to lock you up again," Camic said. "It's a Catch-22 because the federal government is ignoring state prosecutions thanks to (U.S. Attorney General) Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III."
Leticia Zamarripa, spokeswoman for ICE's Chicago office, said in an email she was looking into Pedraza-Arias' situation.
Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Reagan Pittman could not specify whether federal agents could enter the jail before Monday and deport Pedraza-Arias. "There are so many uncertainties associated with this situation," Pittman said.
Pittman and Camic said it was their understanding from ICE that Pedraza-Arias' visa had expired; neither could specify why Monday was set as a deportation date or when the visa expired.