Priest charged with raping Ohio boy decades ago pleads not guilty

CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio priest accused of raping a male elementary school student about 30 years ago has pleaded not guilty to nine counts of rape.

The Rev. Geoffrey Drew’s attorney entered the not-guilty plea for Drew on Wednesday in a Hamilton County court in Cincinnati. Bond was set at $5 million.

Prosecutors say Drew’s now-41-year-old accuser said he was 10 and 11 when the alleged abuse occurred between 1988 and 1991. Drew was music director at St. Jude Parish in suburban Cincinnati at that time. He wasn’t ordained a priest until 2004.

Drew was suspended as pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish in suburban Cincinnati last month after complaints that he had texted a boy. Church officials said the messages weren’t sexual in nature, but violated child protection rules.