Arvada Ex-Priest Charged With 2001 Sex Assault Of Tulsa Boy

EVANSTON, IL -- A former Catholic priest who is a resident of Arvada was slapped with allegations that he sexually abused a boy in an Evanston hotel room in 2001. Kenneth Lewis, 56, was taken into custody May 9 after returning from Ecuador, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

As a priest in Oklahoma in the 1990s, Lewis was accused of child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Tulsa. He reportedly underwent psychiatric treatment and returned to active ministry in 1995.

The parents of a 13-year-old boy made allegations that Lewis sexually molested their son on a trip in late July 2001. The parents reported the allegations to Tulsa police in 2004, and Tulsa police forwarded the case to Evanston, which did not take up the investigation until now, 14 years later, the Sun-Times reported.

Lewis left the priesthood in 2007 after sex abuse claims against him were found credible by the Archdiocese of Tulsa.

In 2010, two parents using the names John and Jane Doe sued the Archdiocese of Tulsa and Bishop Edward Slattery alleging that their son had been sexually abused by Lewis in 2001. It is not clear if these are the parents of the same boy.

After Evanston authorities submitted felony charges in December, 2017 to the Cook County State's Attorney, a judge issued a nationwide $100,000 warrant for Lewis’ arrest, the Evanston police said.

Lewis was arrested on the warrant by U.S. customs agents at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport when he landed back in the U.S. Deputies from the Cook County Sherriff's Police Fugitive Unit brought Lewis back to Illinois. Although his permanent address is in Arvada, Lewis has been living primarily in Ecuador since last summer, according to Cook County prosecutors.

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office approved one felony count of predatory sexual assault of a child.Lewis appeared in bond court Saturday. He is due back in court May 22.

Read more in the Chicago Sun-Times

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