UPDATES WITH BOND, ARCHDIOCESE’S STATEMENT
A Southwest Side priest who was charged with possessing child pornography last year has been arrested in Maryland.
Octavio Munoz, 40, was charged with one felony count of child pornography/photograph, according to Chicago Police.
He is the former director of Casa Jesus, a vocational program of the Chicago Archdiocese intended to reach out to the city’s Hispanic population.
An investigation found he was in possession of child pornography about 9 a.m. July 1, 2015, at his home in the 4000 block of South Sacramento, police said.
He was arrested Sept. 20 in Rockville, Maryland, and extradited to Chicago, police said.
Munoz appeared in court Wednesday afternoon in Chicago. His bond was set at $50,000.
He had been removed from ministry by Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich on July 27, 2015 after “material” was found on his computer. At the time, he was pastor of St. Pancratius church in the Brighton Park neighborhood, according to a statement posted on the Chicago Archdiocese’s website.
Munoz was removed from his post “pending resolution of an investigation of material found on a computer in his possession,” the statement said.
After the material was discovered, Munoz was reported to civil authorities, the statement said.
Casa Jesús was started in 1987 under Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. Its current home is a former convent at 750 N. Wabash Ave. Munoz, an alum of the program, became co-director in July 2008 and director in February 2009, according to the Casa Jesus website.