COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Brighton Park priest is accused of possessing hundreds of child pornography DVDs and VHS tapes, as well as "child erotica" stories that were shared through email.
Octavio Munoz, 40, was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail on Wednesday.
Should Munoz post bond, he'll be required to surrender his passport, avoid contact with children and forgo using the Internet, computers or a cellphone, per orders of Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil, who spoke at Munoz's bond hearing Wednesday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, 2600 S. California Ave.
According to prosecutors, Munoz previously worked as a rector at Casa Jesus Seminary and pastor at St. Pancratius Church in Brighton Park.
As the rector at Casa Jesus, Munoz had his own private apartment, Assistant State's Attorney Guy Lisuzzo said in court Wednesday. Before transferring to St. Pancratius Church in mid-2015, Munoz was expected to vacate the apartment by June 30, 2015, prosecutors said.
But when the incoming rector was taken on a tour of that apartment on July 7, 2015, the rector and tour guide found dozens of boxes of Munoz's belongings, Lisuzzo said.
The duo also noticed a recliner chair and TV tray with a running laptop. On the screen, prosecutors said, was a video of a young boy performing a sexual act. Munoz was not in the apartment at the time.
The tour guide, an employee at Casa Jesus, later reported the incident to the Archdiocese of Chicago, prosecutors said.
The Archdiocese did not report the incident to local authorities, but instead hired private investigators, according to Lisuzzo. The investigators uncovered "child erotica" emails, Lisuzzo said, and confiscated multiple electronic devices.
The investigators then called the Chicago Police Department, prosecutors said.
Police began investigating Munoz by the end of July 2015 and eventually recovered cameras, hundreds of DVDS and VHS tapes depicting child pornography, commercial DVDs with sex-ed materials, children's "undergarments," magazines and photos, prosecutors said.
Munoz was arrested Tuesday in Rockville, Md., and was extradited to Chicago, where he faces one count of child pornography.
Munoz faces probation or up to seven years in prison if he's convicted of the charges.
In August 2015, the Archdiocese of Chicago released a statement saying it had reported Munoz to the police after "material" was found on a "computer in his possession." Police said Munoz was identified as being in possession of child porn on July 1, 2015, in the 4000 block of South Sacramento Avenue.
"The archdiocese is committed to ensuring those serving our parishioners are fit for ministry," according to the August 2015 statement. "Archbishop [Blase] Cupich offers his assurance of prayers and solidarity with the community at St. Pancratius, knowing that this development is unsettling, and he pledges to provide updates on this situation as they become available."
Munoz was co-director at Casa Jesus for several years, according to the organization's website. Casa Jesus is a "vocational program of the Archdiocese of Chicago ... to generate priests who will effectively evangelize the growing Hispanic population in Chicago," the website says.
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