Charges Dismissed After Death of Man Accused of Sexually Assaulting Teen While Posing as Monk

(KNSI) – Charges have been dismissed against a St. Martin man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy while passing himself off as a monk, after court records confirmed the defendant’s death.

Anthony Thomas Falco was scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing on Friday, April 17th, in Stearns County District Court. Instead, the Stearns County Attorney’s Office filed a motion to dismiss the case against the 89-year-old. In the dismissal paperwork, prosecutors wrote that the State “fully intended to proceed to trial” but had recently confirmed that Falco was deceased. No details have been released regarding how or when he died.

Falco had been charged with three counts of criminal sexual conduct involving a victim under the age of 15. Each count carried a potential penalty of 30 years in prison.

According to the criminal complaint, the now-adult victim contacted the Stearns County Attorney’s Office on July 25th. During interviews with a sheriff’s deputy at the sexual assault center, he said his family had met Falco after another family at their church asked if they could give him a ride to mass on Sundays.

Falco was passing himself off as a monk while living in St. Martin. The victim, a teenager at the time, was interested in becoming a priest and spent time with Falco to learn more about religious life.

Court papers say the assaults happened in 2009 and 2010 after Falco earned the boy’s trust over time and asked him back to his apartment following a joint prayer session. What started as kissing and hugging at church escalated to forced sex acts and sexual assault. The victim told investigators that Falco would slap him when he resisted and warned him that something bad would happen to his family if he told anyone.

In one instance, Falco had a camcorder set up inside his apartment, and another person was present. The victim said he blocked out what happened next and still cannot recall the details.

Investigators said a search of Falco’s criminal history showed he had previously been convicted in California for similar crimes nearly 25 years ago. He was also convicted in 2010 in San Mateo County, just after the alleged Minnesota assaults took place. When Falco moved to Minnesota, he failed to register as a sex offender.

With Falco’s death, the case is now closed.

___