WAUKEGAN, Ill.
— A Benedictine monk from Wisconsin who faces charges he tried
to abduct four Illinois girls has been released on bond.
A Lake County
judge lowered 57-year-old Thomas Chmura's bail from $150,000 to
$50,000. Chmura previously was held in the Lake County jail since
May 2. Chmura has pleaded not guilty. He lived at St. Benedict's
Abbey in Benet Lake, Wis. He was arrested based on a description
provided by one of the girls.
The judge has
restricted Chmura to living with his father in the Chicago suburb
of Lansing. Chmura also can't have contact with anyone under age
17. That means he can't return to his abbey in Wisconsin because
the abbey houses children on the property.
Chmura's trial is
set for July 12.
