Priest Charged With Sex Abuse

A visiting Roman Catholic priest who fled to Mexico after being accused of molesting Los Angeles altar boys was formally charged today with sexually assaulting eight of the youths and two other children.

Father Nicholas Aguilar, 46, was charged by the district attorney’s office with 19 counts of felony lewd conduct with a child. If convicted, Aguilar could be sentenced to up to 44 years in state prison. He remains a fugitive in lieu of $500,000 bail. Most of the molestations allegedly occurred at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in the El Sereno area and St. Agatha’s Church in South-Central Los Angeles, where Aguilar visited for several months before fleeing to his native Mexico in January.