Defrocked priest 'flees to Italy with 18-year-old teen he's accused of grooming'
Police are hunting a 30-year-old priest they allege groomed an 18-year-old woman before fleeing to Italy with her.
An initial investigation reportedly turned up a love letter from father Alex Crowe to his then underage student at McGill-Toolen high school, who has not been identified, officials claim.
She has since graduated from the school in Mobile, Alabama.
Crow was once hailed as a 'heartthrob' online previously, performed as the frontman to a local rock band, and made local news when he was the subject of a 'minor exorcism before abandoning his post at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church on the outskirts of the town. Now he's allegedly on the lam with the teenager he groomed.
The priest is being hunted by cops over claims he groomed an 18 year-old girl (Youtube)The woman is now 18 and reportedly contacted her family, telling them that they are in Italy, she is happy, and asked them to let her live in peace. After they were located in Italy, the young woman told a family member that "she went with him on her own free will."
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The family and investigators, however, are afraid the young woman is in danger. According to them, Crow has a fascination with exorcisms and may be trying to perform one on the teen, and he is generally considered an alleged 'predator' by the local police department.
Father Alex Crow is now on the lam with a student who was once under his care (St. Bede the Venerable catholic church)"Clearly there was some sort of a relationship other than a priest and a student," said Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch. Former McGill-Toolen students told [a local newspaper] Crow would talk to classes about 'demons and exorcisms' according to one report.
Crow himself is a graduate of McGill-Toolen and later attended a seminary named St. Joseph before receiving his Master of Divinity degree in Indiana. He was defrocked after leaving his post. Crow also attended Sant' Anselmo in Rome, Italy, where he received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology and studied demons and exorcisms in detail.
In lecture that have been posted online, Crow was caught on video saying some odd things about possession and supernatural encounters. "I grew up in a weird home, both familially, but also a lot of weird stuff happening in the house," he said during a podcast appearance in July 2022.
The man has previously made concerning comments about possessions and supernatural encounters (facebook)"You'd hear things moving around or banging in different rooms. I'd see things from time to time as a kid, always assuming I was kind of, hyper or just looking too much into stuff," Crow said at the time.
He was the subject of an exorcism after complaining of 'chest pains' and 'migraines,' according to a former member of the church. Crow said he had a 'negative reaction' initially but that he 'felt immediately better when the exorcism was over.'
The woman he fled the country with told family members she 'went of her own free will,' but they're concerned for her safety (St. Mary Parish)The family's attorney, Christine Hernandez, told NBC 15 News that the family is 'afraid something is going to happen to their daughter.' "She is with someone who the sheriff's office considers a predator," said Hernandez. The woman told her family initially that their relationship was 'not romantic' and they were staying in 'separate bedrooms.'
Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi told Crow that 'he may no longer exercise ministry as a priest, nor to tell people he is a priest, nor to dress as a priest.' He was ordained just two years ago. Authorities are investigating to see if there are any more victims.
'This is an active investigation, so we are limited on what we can say in order to protect the integrity of the investigation," an official said.
"The circumstances surrounding this case are concerning, and it has the full attention of the Mobile County District Attorney's Office," the statement read.
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