Reduced bail for accused priest

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A judge on Tuesday reduced bail for a Catholic priest accused of molesting an 11-year-old Northeast altar boy more than a decade ago.

Municipal Court Judge Paula Patrick slashed the Rev. Robert Brennan’s $1 million bail to $50,000 after a brief hearing Tuesday morning.

Patrick didn’t accept Assistant Prosecutor Evangelia Manos’ assertion that the 75-year-old priest is a flight risk. Patrick did, however, order Brennan to surrender his passport.

Brennan, who had been assistant pastor at Resurrection of Our Lord parish in Rhawnhurst until 2004, was arrested in Maryland Sept. 25 and had been custody in Philadelphia since Sept. 27.

Brennan’s attorney, Trevan Borum, told Patrick his client had no criminal record and strong ties to the community. Several people stood in court to show the judge they were there to support Brennan, who was not present.

Dis­trict At­tor­ney Seth Wil­li­ams on Sept. 26 said the priest re­peatedly mo­les­ted a par­ish al­tar boy from 1998 to 2001. Wil­li­ams said Bren­nan’s vic­tim was 11 and in the par­ish school’s sixth grade when the mo­lesta­tions star­ted, and Bren­nan was 60. The ab­use oc­curred in the North­east church’s sac­risty, Bren­nan’s rect­ory bed­room, a stor­age area on par­ish prop­erty and in a movie theat­er, the DA said.

The priest, who was prom­in­ently men­tioned in the 2005 Phil­adelphia Grand Jury re­port on sexu­al ab­use by Cath­ol­ic clergy, was ar­res­ted Sept. 25 in Perry­ville, Md., where he lives in a private res­id­ence.

Wil­li­ams said Bren­nan has been charged with rape, in­vol­un­tary de­vi­ate sexu­al in­ter­course and ag­grav­ated in­de­cent as­sault.

Bren­nan’s pre­lim­in­ary hear­ing is sched­uled for 11 a.m. on Oct. 17 in Courtroom 806 of the Crim­in­al Justice Cen­ter, 13th and Fil­bert streets.