Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - "HEARTTHROB PRIEST" Flees to Italy w/ Teen Girl he "GROOMED"

Episode Date: August 14, 2023

An investigation is underway related to former priest Alex Crow. The 30-year-old and an 18-year-old girl fled to Italy were they are reportedly staying in an Airbnb with no intention of returning to the U.S.  The girl's parents have pleaded with her to return, but the girl insists she is fine. She says she and Cross have separate rooms.   Alabama police say they are probing allegations that Crow may have groomed the teen,  while she was still in high school.  A love letter from Crow to the teen on Valentine’s Day of this year was found.  Sheriff Burch said it is possible that more female students are involved. Church officials allegedly ordered the priest not to have contact with another female student who is a friend of the 18-year-old teen. Joining Nancy Grace Today:  Greg Ahlgren - International Attorney-at-Law at the US-MX Law Group, Ltd. & DRT Alliance/Diaz Reus International Law firm, www.us-mx-law.com, diazreus.com Dr. John Delatorre [D La Torrey], licensed psychologist and mediator, specializing in forensic psychology, psychological consultant to Project Absentis: a nonprofit organization that searches for missing persons, resolutionfcs.com, Twitter, IG, and TikTok - @drjohndelatorre Sheriff Paul Burch- Mobile Alabama sheriff, www.mobileso.com, Facebook: Team Sheriff, IG: teamsheriff Irv Brandt - Senior Inspector, US Marshals Service International Investigations Branch, Chief Inspector, DOJ Office of International Affairs; Author: “SOLO SHOT: CURSE OF THE BLUE STONE” available on Amazon, Also "FLYING SOLO: Top of the World" Twitter: @JackSoloAuthor Rev. Dr. Bob Larson - Founder of Spiritual Freedom Churches International, Author: Book of Religiouns, Cults and New Age Spirtuality”, BobLarson.org, Twitter: BLarsonexorcist, Facebook: BobLarsonTheRealExorcist  Anna Sonoda - Child grooming expert, Licensed clinical social worker, - Author, “Duck Duck Groom: Understanding How a Child Becomes a Target”, AnnaSonoda.com Kyle Hamrick - Reporter for Lagniappe News in Mobile, Alabama,  www.lagniappemobile.com,Twitter @LagniappeMobile, Facebook @LagniappeMobile   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace A so-called heartthrob priest is on the lam. Authorities are now looking for Father Alex Crow with him, a teen girl from his church. Where are they? Beyond the long arm of the law's reach, we believe, overseas. Can the two of them be forced home? And how did the whole thing unfold? How does a priest groom a young girl, a priest, I might add, who is obsessed

with demons and exorcisms? How can he groom a young girl and then leave the country with her? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. Described as a so-called heart throb, what does that mean? A heart throb. Now, I've heard that phrase in the past as it has referred to movie stars and matinee idols, but I've never heard it applied to a priest. I don't think of a priest as a heartthrob. Now, I'm just a peace-loving Methodist, but I look at our preachers, our lady preachers, our male preachers,

as kind of like a spiritual father or mother or sister or brother. I don't really think of them as a heartthrob. Now, that's a whole psychopathy in itself. But let's just get down to this case, and let's start with our friends at WPMI. Listen. Crow's short stint with the Catholic Church has gone from interesting to possibly criminal. According to the district attorney's office, the priest and a recent female graduate of Mobile's McGill-Tulin High School took a trip together outside of the country. In a bombshell statement,

Archbishop Rohde left no one guessing that he has lost faith in his young servant. Father Alex Crowe abandoned his assignment in the archdiocese, says Rohde. His behavior is totally unbecoming of a priest. Unbecoming? I may have another word for it, but I've got to find out more facts. Joining me in all-star panel, but first I'm going to go to Kyle Hamrick,

a reporter for the Laniat Newsmobile Alabama. Kyle, thank you for being with us. Now listen, I know the girl has just turned 18, but from what I can understand, his so-called grooming of her started when she was much younger. Just where is he right now? And is the girl with him? From what I understand, from what sources have told me, Crow and the young woman who recently graduated from high school are in Italy. Oh, dear Lord in heaven.

Not exactly sure where, but that is where they are now. And sources have also told me that they think this relationship might have started before she graduated high school. I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. As a matter of fact, take a listen now to our friends at Fox 10. Investigators found a love letter the priest wrote the teen on Valentine's Day this year while she was still a high school student. That really changed our perspective on how we're looking at the case. Mobile County Sheriff Paul Birch is talking about

a love letter between defrocked priest Alex Crow and a former McGill-Tulin high school student that his investigators have uncovered. Clearly there was some kind of relationship other than a priest to a teen girl on Valentine's Day this year while she's still a high school student. All right, let's just get right down to it. Anna Sonoda joining me, child grooming expert, clinical social worker, author of Duck, Duck Groom, Understanding How a Child Becomes a Target. And you can find her at AnnaSonota.com. Anna, listen, it's bad enough when an adult grooms a child for illicit purposes. But in my mind, it's even worse when a pastor, a preacher, a church worker grooms the child. It's bad enough when a school teacher or a principal grooms a child for illicit reasons. What is a priest doing writing a love letter on Valentine's Day to a little girl in high school? I tell you what, you know, I have steam. Have you

ever seen those cartoons when the character gets mad and the steam comes out of their ears?'s how i feel right now because i'm thinking about my children john david and lucy if i got a hold of a letter by a pastor a love letter to them while they're in high school oh h-e-double-l-n-o nancy this is an example of how sexual predators, when they're grooming kids, are going to do one of two things. They're either going to relate or they're going to elevate. So when I say relate, I mean, they're going to act like a kid. They're going to believe that they're a peer of that child or they're going to elevate, which means they're going to treat that kid like they're more mature, possibly like an equal adult. And in this case, the love letter is certainly an example of him trying to relate as a romantic interest to her. Just trying to take this all in.

You know, I want you to take a look at him. He's been called a so-called heart throb. Heart throb. Joining us right now is a special guest, Sheriff Paul Birch, the Mobile, Alabama Sheriff. I want to thank you so much, Sheriff, for being with us. Your neck of the woods is especially dear to me. My father was from Haycota, Alabama, which is near Enterprise, which is near Op, which is near Mobile. That's how I have to explain it to everybody.

So thank you, Sheriff Birch, for being with us. What in the hay is going on? How does a Catholic priest start sending love letters to a girl in high school? Sheriff, my children are 15, about to turn 16. This girl is only about one year older than the twins are right now. Can you even imagine, of all people, a Catholic priest writing love letters to a little girl? It's somewhat of a bizarre situation. And what we've learned is that she's not the only girl. He's groomed a couple of young girls.

Okay, wait a minute. My head is spinning like in The Exorcist. I guess that's appropriate for right now so this is not the love of his life that he has happened to found he's grooming other girls at the same time well this is the latest you know there was a young girl that he was previously you know acting inappropriately with and he was ordered to stay away from her and she's you know we're trying to get her to come on board, but she's not exactly cooperating at the moment. Let me guess, you think she's in love? This particular one does, yes.

And we refer to her as the 18-year-old because all these acts occurred when she was a juvenile, or what we're going back and looking at, so we're not going to name her as of yet. Now, you're talking about the current girl in Italy. Correct. We're referring to her as the 18-year-old. Okay, the previous girl, was she also a minor? She was. Actually, the two were best friends and went to the same school, same grade.

I'm so mad I could chew a nail in half right now, Sheriff. Now, Sheriff, let me understand something. The so-called love letters and the so-called inappropriate behavior, is it of a sexual nature? We believe it is. I will say the letter, and I want to clarify, we've only seen one. The letter, basically, he's expressing his feelings for the 18 year old in this letter and it's and it's worded in a romantic way and but different people starting to come forward telling us some things that they didn't necessarily think a lot of at the time but but now you know it's pieces of the puzzle being put together. Like what? We do know that there was a school trip probably almost two months ago now,

and allegedly she was seen coming from his hotel room at 1.30 in the morning by others that were on the trip. And we're trying to nail that down and get specifics on that. Again, her coming out of the room, you can't prove what happened behind the closed doors, but certainly a young girl who would have been 17 at the time

coming out of male adults, because he's 30 years old, coming out of a hotel room is certainly something to inquire about. You know what? You just hit me with a bombshell. 1.30 a.m. in the morning, and yes, Sheriff, again, you're absolutely right. If I were prosecuting this case, I would have to have more. I can't tell a jury, what do you think happened in there?

What? Uh-uh. No, that's not going to cut it. You've got to have more evidence. How you're going to get it, I don't know that yet. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Greg Algren is with me, international attorney at the USMX Law Group. You know, Greg, the people, the families of these girls have to be standing on their heads right now. And you've got the one girl who has turned 18 in the interim with the priest in Italy. I mean, proving a case like this is going to be very difficult unless you can get one of the girls to admit what happened.

That's the only way. I agree with that. They can't participate. It seems to me that it would be impossible to get any traction on making a successful prosecution. So that would be key, getting the participation of the girls who were part of the scheme. Unless there's something in those letters or other letters that could prove something of a sexual nature has occurred with the girls. And can I just be very, very blunt to John Delatore, licensed psychologist and mediator who specializes in forensic psychology. You can find him at resolutionfcs.com.

Dr. Delatore, listen, I prosecuted so many statutory rape cases where the victim is a teen girl under age who by all other analysis would have quote consented, but under age, the child cannot consent just like a child cannot buy a car. My children who are 15 cannot go buy a car. They can't buy a house. They can't enter into contracts. They can't buy liquor or cigarettes, I pray to God in heaven, because they do not have legal capacity to enter into a contract or have sex. But when you hear a quote, love letter, as Sheriff Paul Birch has described, from a 30-year-old priest to a teen girl under age. That's, oh, I'm so in love with you, translation, I want to get in your pants.

That's what that means. Well, let me clarify. Is this Sheriff Birch or Delatory speaking? This is Sheriff Paul Birch. Go ahead. Go ahead, Sheriff. I want to clarify, in Alabama, the legal age of consent is 16. But the law that we're pursuing this case under, a teacher, employee of a school, volunteer of a school, counselor, cannot have a sexual relationship with a student regardless of age.

She could have been 20 and it would still be illegal. So they're in a fiduciary position like a counselor, a teacher, a priest, where you owe a certain degree of, let me just say, care to the victim. Unlike a stranger. Got it. Got it. Okay. But I wouldn't be surprised if some of these letters predate all the way back to age 16. I don't know that yet. But something had to lead up to the letter, Sheriff.

The letter just didn't happen overnight. We're still waiting on text. And we're still awaiting all the information from her phone, from his phones. And, you know, obviously subpoenas have been sent out. We're just waiting on that information to come back. And back to you, Dr. John Delatore, licensed psychologist. All the flowery language this priest may have written in these letters, it all means the same thing.

He is involved in some type of an inappropriate, if not sexual nature, with a teen girl. Bam. Yeah, it absolutely means that. But here's the other aspect to it, is that not only is there flowery aspects related to whatever content might be in his love letters, but he of these teen girls and draw from them so that he can now have their strength. And I imagine that that's how he's approaching. To Anna Sonoda, again, child grooming expert and author of Duck, Duck, Groom.

Anna, what is more attractive to a person, much less a teen girl, than the love object they can't have. The proverbial apple in the Garden of Eden, the grass greener on the other side, the thing you can't have turns out to be the thing you suddenly realize you want the most, a priest. This case is disgusting, Nancy, and I want to clarify that this occurs in all denominations. This is a persistent problem whenever you have adults and minors coexisting. And grooming is a perverse form of courtship. And it's fueled, sexual predators are fueled by gas, grooming, access, and space. So you have already seen examples of him using grooming techniques by complimenting, giving favors, and building in this child a sense of connection. But we also have just

learned that he had access and he had available spaces. And if grooming is going to continue, we must withhold access and limit any available spaces. You know what's interesting? Everybody, I want you to hear this. When my twins first went to scout camp, I immediately thought, oh dear, molestation, murder. I have to train as a volunteer and I have to go camp with them, which I made my husband do as well for a week, lying on the ground, camping out. So as it turned out, they loved it, and it was a wonderful experience for them. But my point is, I was a volunteer counselor, and there was a little boy from another troop, I didn't know him, who was standing in the middle of a dirt road crying his eyes out, crying, snotting, I mean wailing like, and I went up, he could not have been older than, you know,

seventh grade, and he was a frail, small little boy, and I went up to him, I hugged him, and I said, what is wrong, son, do you need to get in touch with your parents, what happened? I mean, in 15 seconds, another troop leader came up, took me by the arm and pulled me back and said, don't touch him. You can help him, but don't hug him. And in that moment, I felt angry because this child was crying. All it was was he was homesick, by the way. He had never been away from home before and he wanted to go home. But they were right.

They were right, and I was wrong. So as she, Anna Sunoda, was just describing, we were out in a whole group of people in literally the middle of the road. But giving access alone time to an adult and a child, I hate that's the way the world is. But it is. That should not be allowed. I want to talk about this guy's obsession with demonology. Then there is the other aspect, and that is this so-called father, the priest's obsession with exorcism and demonology. And he's in Italy with this girl, this U.S., this American girl.

Take a listen to our friends at WPMI. They're afraid something is going to happen to their daughter, Hernandez told NBC 15 News. She is with someone who the sheriff's office considers a predator. While Mobile County Sheriff Paul Birch hasn't used that exact word to describe Crow, he came close. I believe there was some grooming that's going on and you know you've got you know a much older adult interacting with teenage girls and in an inappropriate way. Adding to the concern is the acknowledgement by Sheriff Birch that Crow has shown a fascination with demonology and exorcisms and told people he was going to Europe with a young woman to perform exorcisms. Okay, let that sink in.

Why do you have to take a teen girl with you to Europe to perform exorcisms? Let me go straight out to Reverend Dr. Bob Larson, founder of Spiritual Freedom Churches International and author of Book of Religions, Cults and New Age Spirituality. You can find him at BobLarson.org. Preacher, thank you so much for being with us. What exactly is demonology?

Demonology is the study of Satan and evil and demons in the spirit world. And there are two aspects to it. One, which is a demonological aspect from non-Christians or Satanists and people who want to make that contact with power. On the Christian side is the study of evil to understand it and combat it through spiritual warfare. Now, I agree with what has been said already, but I think there may be a point being missed here. I would not say that he has an obsession.

I watched the videos of him teaching. This is a priest who had been to the Vatican. He had studied exorcism early. As an exorcist myself, I write about this. He knew what he was talking about. He was excellent in his teaching. He was Christian. He was Catholic.

Everything he said was absolutely perfect. Now, if you add to that a demented mind, and let's suppose that now he is taking this knowledge, which he has, which there's nothing wrong with it, but he's somehow using it to manipulate her. He now has another tool over her in that now he is a spiritual mentor trying to deliver her from evil. Now that gets really twisted. What exactly takes place during an exorcism? Well, there are, according to Catholic tradition, there's the major, the minor, and then the deleterious

exorcism. And if you could not do a major exorcism because he doesn't have a bishop condoning it obviously okay well wait wait wait wait i can't understand what you're saying what did you say he cannot perform an exorcism because of what so in catholicism are basically three levels of exorcisms the highest level is a major exorcism, which is what we usually connote with what you see in the movies. And that requires approval by the bishop, whoever is presiding over his jurisdiction. So he can't just go do that on his own. Now, a minor exorcism, of which baptism is included in the Catholic Church, he can do that on his own.

But he can also do what's called a deliverance, which basically any professing Christian, according to Catholicism, can do that on his own, but he can also do what's called a deliverance, which basically any professing Christian, according to Catholicism, can do. It just doesn't have the ritualism of the major exorcism. My point is, he could say, this girl has demons, or she seduced him because she has demons because he's an expert in this area i i think there's another spin to this that no one has touched on that is the fact that this priest was an expert in the area as taught by the catholic church and i think there's the possibility that he's using his extensive knowledge which there's nothing wrong with he's using his extensive knowledge, which there's nothing wrong with. He's been to the Vatican. He has learned it. He knows what he's talking about.

But if he then uses as an additional ploy this young woman saying that she has demons and that he somehow is called by God to rid her of her demons, then he could be highly manipulative and he could combine his own carnal interests with spiritualism. And this would be a very dangerous mind trip to put this young woman on. I just want to point out that you said he's not really authorized to perform higher levels of exorcism. FYI, he's not authorized to send letters, romantic letters to a little girl and then take her with him to Italy to perform exorcisms. So I'm pretty sure he's gone rogue and he's doing whatever the hey, he feels like doing. Sheriff Paul Birch, agree, disagree?

He's actually been, you know, I guess, banned or fired from the Catholic Church here in Mobile. And I'm sure the Archdiocese are involved in that as well. I just wonder, is the Italian government helping at all? I'm going to go to Irv Brandt, Senior Inspector, U.S. Marshal Service with that. But first, speaking of this whole exorcism and demonic obsession, I want you to take a listen to our cut three and one. First of all, here, Alex Crowe

himself and our friends at Crime Online. Hello, my name is Alex Crowe. I'm a parishioner of St. Ignatius Parish. I'm going to be a junior at St. Joseph Abbey Seminary College. When I first came back to the church about three years ago the first book I ever read was the way of perfection so I found that Carmelite spirituality has put a large part in my seminary formation growing up in what he calls a

weird home with a lot of weird stuff happening in the home Alex Crowe says he would hear things moving around or banging in different rooms and claims that over a period of three to four years, he suffered from chest pains, migraine-like headaches. But a battery of medical tests, psychological tests, and talking with specialists revealed nothing out of the ordinary. According to AL.com, Crowe claimed in a podcast that when he stepped into a church, he felt as if he would pass out. Crow said a priest performed what he described as a minor exorcism or a deliverance prayer on him. Alex Crow said he felt immediately better,

and that started a long process with, quote, me needing deliverance from a priest, unquote. So this is a guy that has had an exorcism done on himself, a mild exorcism. I'm not sure what the various stages of exorcism are. We don't have exorcism in the Methodist Church, and I am by no means poo-pooing it. I don't know the difference between a mild exorcism and a more severe exorcism. We heard Dr. Reverend Bob Larson describe the most serious types of exorcisms, the type you see on movies and on TV, but that all aside, I'm a trial lawyer, not a priest, and certainly not an

expert in Catholicism, but I know this, Sheriff Paul Birch. Somebody's sending love letters to my teen girl, there's going to be hell to pay, much less when he takes off to Italy with her. I agree. And one thing you brought up that we haven't really discussed is Crow's dad's a local attorney. So that obviously throws a little bit of a hindrance.

Wait, who is a local attorney? Alice a little bit of a hindrance. Wait, who is the local attorney? Alex Crowe's dad is a local attorney. What does he have to say about his son taking a girl off to Italy to perform exorcisms? Like they don't have priests to perform exorcisms in Italy? Well, he hasn't said anything. And, you know, again, you know, I'm sure he's in an odd position, too, as his son. I guess he is, Sheriff. You can say that again.

Irv Brandt, help me out here. Guys, Irv Brandt. I'm going to Irv because I need an expert in extradition and foreign affairs. Irv Brandt, Senior Inspector, U.S. Marshal Service, International Investigations. Chief Inspector, DOJS. Marshal Service, International Investigations, Chief Inspector, DOJ, Office of International Affairs. He's an author of Solo Shot, Curse of the Blue Stone, and Flying Solo, Top of the World, both on Amazon. Number one, there's nothing to extradite. I put the cart before the horse right there because he hasn't been charged with a crime yet. But what can you tell me about this situation?

I understand the two have been found in Italy and, quote, they're in an Airbnb with separate bedrooms. Are you serious? Like, separate bedrooms means anything? But that said, what's your take on this, Irv Brandt? Well, it's tricky, Nancy. The Europeans view sex crimes and appropriate behavior

with minors quite differently. Oh, you mean like Roman Polanski? That's where I was going with this. Yes. And as Sheriff Birch was talking about in his investigation, that this may lead, you know, to inappropriate behavior with someone in a position of authority. And that it's possible that a warrant may be issued. It's highly unlikely that it could be extradited from any European country,

and particularly Italy, where the age of consent is 14. Okay, whoa, wait, wait, wait, wait. Irv. Yes. I thought I knew you. I thought I knew what you were going to say. You do know me. But I did not know the age of consent in Italy is 14.

Are you sure? Wait, Sydney, Jackie, Google that. I already did. Is he right? Yes, Jackie, Google that. I already did. Is he right? Yes. Well, apparently Google agrees with you. The age of consent is 14. No, unless it's involved with,

like as Sheriff Birch was saying, where he said there's no age restriction if it's someone with a position of authority. In Italy, if it's with a person, you know, in position of authority, a teacher, a priest, a police officer, whatever, it would be 16. The age of consent is 16. So there lies the dilemma. What do you charge him with? Italy is not going to help us, even if we did have a formal charge. If they want to extradite Roman Polanski, who drugged a girl and had sex with her, a little girl in a hot tub,

they're not going to extradite a priest of all places. I mean, Vatican Central, there it is. Okay, Sheriff Paul Birch, I don't even know how to formulate the first question here. How far back do the grooming letters go? If the girl just turned 18, how far back do the letters of grooming go? The letter that we've seen goes back to Valentine's of this year, around Valentine's Day. But we do know that they've known each other for at least two years. One question I have with the previous guest

is they're only on there on a passport, which they can only be there for 90 days. So I'm wondering... You're smart, Sheriff. Sheriff, I know what you're getting at, but with the EU, Americans are visa exempt? But you are correct. They could only stay for 90 days.

Okay, you two need to slow down. I'm a criminal trial lawyer. What are you saying? EU, European Union, you're saying that the European Union exempts U.S. citizens from passport violations? No. They're visa exempt. But the sheriff is right that they can only stay in the country for 90 days. Hey, guys, we just saw this happen with Caitlin Armstrong.

Remember, she's accused of murdering the professional biker, Moe? Correct. Marine. And over some love spat over some guy. Like like there's not another guy in the world. You have to kill somebody over him. And she goes to Costa Rica and she did not remember Irv Brant. And you're the one that pointed this out correctly. She was not brought back to the U.S. on an official indictment. She was brought back on some type of a passport or a visa charge. Isn't that right? Right. She was deported and she volunteered and she waived her rights to a deportation hearing.

But what the sheriff is talking about is the 90 days. But that person doesn't have to return to the U.S. to start the 90 days over. If you're in Italy and you can only be in Italy 90 days, you could go to Germany for one day, then return to Italy and stay for another 90 days. Thanks for giving them ideas, Irv Brandt. So... crime stories with nancy grace greg algren international lawyer what if anything can this teen girl's parents do you know i think this is really more of a civil liability type case, perhaps, to play out in the U.S. courts.

I would agree. As far as extradition, I would say it is a difficult case. I mean, there's a dual criminality requirement that is standard globally for extradition. So any type of hope of getting them extradited back to the United States, I think it would be very difficult. Yes, there is this sort of backdoor of a potential immigration violation, like a person deported back to the United States. But again, given the standards of proof in criminal cases, actually it would be very, you know, maybe distasteful conduct,

but I see it as a difficult case to prosecute. I think you're right about that. Guys, this guy, this priest obsessed with demons, demonology and exorcism claims he needs to take a teen American girl with him to Italy to perform exorcisms. Take a listen to our friends at CrimeOnline.com and Fox 10. After graduating from McGill-Tulin Catholic School in Mobile, Alabama, Alex Crowe attended Spring Hill College for a year before dropping out to form a band. Playing a mix of blues, rock, and pop covers, Alex Crowe and the Ultra Boys played several venues in the Mobile, Alabama area

and even did a homecoming dance at McGill-Tulin. According to AL.com, after working the local scene with limited success, Crow says he was called into the priesthood. So, he attended St. Joseph Catholic College before getting his Bachelor of Sacred Theology from San Selma in Rome. He earned his Master of Divinity degree from St. Minard Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana. But for much of his adult life, Alex Crowe spent his time studying demonology and exorcism, becoming an expert on the topic and sharing his knowledge on video, podcast, and as an invited lecturer to students. Let me just drink that in for a moment.

For much of his adult life, he spends time studying demonology and exorcism, and now he has a teen girl with him in Italy against the will of her parents but that's not all take a listen our friends at Fox 10 the Mobile County Sheriff's Office confirming today that the priest and woman he left the country with have been located in Italy the Archdiocese says Alex Crowe abandoned his assignment at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church, calling his behavior, quote, totally unbecoming of a priest. Meanwhile, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Birch says there is no doubt that this story is a bizarre case. But at this time, there's nothing criminal going on.

With me is special guest Sheriff Paul Birch from Mobile, Alabama. Sheriff, I understand the two are in Italy with no plans to return home despite the teen girl's parents flying to Italy begging her to come home. I also understand that this priest, a so-called heartthrob, Alex Crowe, says he went to Italy to perform an exorcism on this teen girl. He had to go to Italy to perform an exorcism. Sheriff? Well, I think that may have been misstated. He talked about performing exorcisms, but not necessarily on her.

But he wanted her to travel with him. And I actually spoke to her several times a week before last, pleaded with her to come home and tried to, you know, so let's, let's, if he, if he loves you so much, come back and do it right. And just, she wouldn't hear anything of it. You know, her parents were basically asked to leave. He, cause he would never let her talk to them alone. I was actually sending investigators to try to talk to her.

The next day was told if our guys were to land in Italy to interview anybody, they'd be arrested by the Italian officials. So we had to back off of that. Okay, wait. Let me understand what you just said. Italian officials say if you touch down to interview her or the priest, they'll arrest you? They were going to arrest my detectives and prosecute if we would have succeeded in going over there. So we contacted our local FBI office who has helped facilitate with the Italian officials. And we hope to have interviews with her sometime in the next few days,

you know, alone, away from him. But it has to be done by Italian officials. Who believe the age of consent is 14. Okay, so guys, I want you to take a listen to our cut 19, our friends at Fox 10 Mobile. My understanding through my investigators that when family met up with them, they were in separate bedrooms, you know, in an Airbnb type situation. And the 18-year-old is adamant that there's no intimate relationship.

It's just kind of a bizarre story. Sheriff Birch says Crowe left a letter with the Archdiocese stating he would never return to America. Is he going to keep this girl with him the whole time? Kyle Hamrick with me, investigative reporter for Laniat News in Mobile. Kyle, is that true that when visitors from the U.S. got there, they are in an Airbnb with separate bedrooms, and that's what they want everyone to believe? That's what law enforcement sources told me was a family member went to Italy to see them and check on them, and they found them in an Airbnb kind of home with two separate bedrooms. And that was the first story for a few days was that there was nothing funny going on, no romantic connection.

And now the young woman is saying that she's in love and does not want to leave him. Okay, see, Anna Sonoda with me, child grooming expert and author of Duck, Duck, Groom, Understanding How a Child Becomes a Target. That's what's so dangerous right here is that the grooming began. I mean, this guy has been taking confessions at her location since 2021 when she was 16. The grooming, I believe, began before she was 18. Now she is entrenched in the idea that she is in love with a heartthrob priest obsessed with demonology and she's completely under his control in another country, a country that will not help the U.S. Nancy, the other thing that's come out in several of your panel members is that this guy is a serial predator. When we're looking at child sex abuse predators,

70% of them have one to nine victims and 20% have 10 to 40 victims. So you've already seen an example that this guy was on someone's radar in Mobile. And the risk factors that are inherent in people who work in church systems are that they are actually part of a higher power. They're often called from God himself in order to do their job. And there's built-in obedience and deference. And we ask people within religious environments to be vulnerable. And in those same ways, this predator was perfectly positioned with young, obedient girls to implement a trap in order to gain access and then isolate her. The fact that we're talking about how many bedrooms are in Airbnb makes me want to explode. Why does he need to isolate her?

It's only because he has her in a relationship that is predatory and she is powerless. Sheriff, didn't I hear you say that he would not allow her to speak to anyone without him being there? Correct. Even with her parents, he was right there the entire time because I was on the phone with them and her through different parts of the day a week or so ago. And just, you could hear him interject. And one advantage he has, too, is I don't know how fluent he is, but he speaks Italian to some degree. And when officials did show up, he would speak to them in Italian

so no one else knew what was going on or what was being said. But like I said, the family, the mother and father were asked to leave after being there for a few days. Sheriff, here's the harsh truth. She's 18 now. So unless you can prove grooming or not just inappropriate activity, criminal wrongdoing, there's no hope of getting him back. And even if you can prove it, they're in Italy

who doesn't give a flying fig about the U.S. law. Our real hope is to get her back. I don't care if he wants to live as a fugitive for the rest of his life. I think we'll get to where we can get some felony warrants on him. Hopefully this week.

If he wants to live as a fugitive rest of his life that that's his business we want to get her back is the ultimate goal sheriff have you ever seen a case where you believe there's no way you can get justice not not in this degree i you know i when i was told that by, you know, through email, Italian officials, you know, I was like, well,

there goes the brotherhood of law enforcement. Well, you know, you should become familiar with us saying that we have in our home, it's a highly technical

legal phrase. Screw you and the horse you rode in on. I believe it's how I would put it to the Italian authorities on this one. But until she wants to come home, I don't think you've got a case unless you can prove through this other friend,

the friend girl or the letters or some other witness that some type of wrongdoing, criminal wrongdoing occurred. You're screwed, Sheriff. I will say the italian officials were helpful in one way when the parents were there there was an ipad that that both her the girl and crow really wanted to keep but the parents were able to convince them that it belonged they paid for it it belonged to them So the authorities did give the parents the laptop or the iPad. And it's actually at our local FBI office trying to gain access to it. They really did not want that to leave their hands.

So I'm hoping there's something in there that will strengthen the case and get us over the hill on being able to sign charges on him. I am hoping that between texts, emails, love letters, and that iPad that the parents miraculously got their mitts on, you may be able to prove the case and get this girl home. I feel that she's been brainwashed. Final word to Reverend Dr. Bob Larson, founder of Spiritual Freedom Churches and author of Book of Religions, Cult and New Age Spirituality. What do you make of it, Reverend? Well, I think there is, in addition to everything legally that's been spoken about and some of the excellent conclusions psychologically, a spiritual dimension to this as well. What this guy has done is taken his interest in demonology, exorcism, and he's added to that his own conflicted state spiritually in which he believes he had demons. And it's in a twisted kind of way that he's mixing sex, predatory behavior, and spirituality. And I think that's part of the

control he's got over the mind of this young woman. If he is a spiritual mentor as well as a lover, and if he believes that he's in a superior position to do something about evil inside her, that is a very, very twisted way of looking at things. But it's a powerful means of keeping her within his grasp. My question is, can we prove a crime? If you have information or think you have information about the so-called heartthrob father, Alex Crowe, age 30, please call 251-574-8633.

Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.