Former Priest Booked In Mecklenburg County Jail Sunday

Former Catholic priest Rev. Robert Yurgel, 43, is now in custody at the Mecklenburg County jail. Yurgel is charged with molesting a 14-year-old boy from the Charlotte area.

According to jail records, Yurgel was booked around 9:15 a.m. Sunday.

Police believe Yurgel met the victim while working at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Ballantyne where he was a priest from May 1997 to June 1999. Police said the victim and his family were members of the church when the alleged sex crimes occured, but the victim only recently reported the acts to detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Yurgel was arrested April 2 in New Jersey where he was a Chaplain at St. Mary's hospital. He now faces five counts of taking indecent liberties with a child, and two counts of statutory sex offense.

Yurgel's next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday at 1 p.m.