A Florida Keys pastor who fled the state after being accused of sexually battering a teen congregant has been deemed a flight risk and will remain jailed, a judge ordered Saturday.
Judge James Morgan ruled Monte Lavelle Chitty, 62, will be held in the Monroe County Detention Center with no bond, meaning he will not be allowed to go home before his trial. According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office jail website, Chitty was previously given a $1.4 million bond.
Assistant Monroe County State Attorney Joseph Mansfield petitioned Morgan to revoke Chitty’s bond after Chitty fled to Texas and was arrested there earlier this month.
“Because of my real concern for the safety of the community, not to mention he is now a proven flight risk, I asked the judge for pre-trial detention with no bond, and he granted it today,” Mansfield told the Miami Herald.
Chitty was first arrested in early March for allegedly giving a 15-year-old girl, who was part of his congregation, alcohol and then molesting her.
READ MORE: Florida Keys pastor accused of sexually abusing girl at his church
Running away from court
The day Chitty molested the young teen, he called the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office to forewarn them that someone was about to accuse him of doing “something,” and he wanted to get out in front of it, the sheriff’s office said.
He went on to say a young girl at his church had been drinking and passed out on the church’s library couch. He told them he helped her lie down but didn’t touch her, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies were already well aware of those accusations as they were told by an anonymous caller they overheard the teen tell an adult she had been raped. The sheriff’s office was trying to find the girl when Chitty’s call came in.
The next day, March 4, Chitty was arrested and charged with sexual battery of a child between the ages of 12 and 18, lewd and lascivious behavior and contributing to the delinquency of a child.
On March 25, he was released from jail after members of his congregation paid his $75,000 bond. Shortly after, he packed up his things and left for Texas before his first court appearance in the Florida Keys.
READ MORE: Florida Keys pastor accused of sexually battering teen arrested in Texas
A warrant was issued for his arrest. The U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and the Woodsville Police Department found him in Woodsville, Texas, where his adult son lives.
He was extradited back to a jailhouse in the Florida Keys, where he will remain for the duration of his trial.