Investigation into disgraced priest, 18-year-old girl closed after girl refused to cooperate, DA says
Published 9:31 pm Monday, November 6, 2023
The criminal investigation into a now former Catholic priest and his relationship with a then Catholic school girl who has since graduated is closed, the local district attorney said, citing the 18-year-old girl’s unwillingness to speak with investigators.
The Mobile District attorney’s office released a statement Monday regarding an investigation into now disgraced priest Alex Crow who left the country with a recent high school graduate after the two apparently had a relationship.
Investigators had said they were looking into the matter since some people alleged the relationship with the girl began while she was still a student at McGill-Toolen High School where Crow occasionally spoke to students.
The DA’s statement read:
“The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office was asked by the Archdiocese of Mobile to investigate the unusual circumstances surrounding the sudden disappearance of an eighteen-year-old female graduate from McGill-Toolen High School, and a 30-year-old Priest. Until the young lady returned, our office did what it could by interviewing over 30 witnesses and reviewing thousands of pages of documents provided by the Archdiocese, as well as documents recovered from our independent investigation. We spoke to many concerned citizens in the community.”
“When the young lady and Priest returned, we subpoenaed the young lady to meet with our office to determine what had occurred, and whether there was any criminal action. She appeared in seemingly good health and said that she is safe. However, she brought an attorney with her to the meeting, and together they declined to answer any questions about the circumstances surrounding her July disappearance, or indeed any other questions.”
“Without being able to speak with the young lady about these events, we do not have sufficient admissible evidence to charge a crime at this time. Therefore, this investigation is currently closed.”
“As there are no criminal charges at this time, I will not answer any questions about a private relationship between two now-adults. Doing so would undermine the dignity and integrity of this office, and exceed the scope of our mission, which is always to pursue justice.”