Convicted sex offender who posed as monk arrested in Calif on new molestation allegations

Police: Fake friar charged in new molestation

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — A convicted sex offender who posed as a monk to gain the confidence of his victims has been arrested for allegedly molesting another teenage boy.

Anthony Thomas Falco was booked into San Mateo County Jail on Monday on 16 counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts on a child younger than 14 and one charge of failing to register as a sex offender.

Falco was arrested last week in Daly City after police received an anonymous tip.

Nearly a decade ago, Falco was convicted of molesting two teenage boys while posing as a Franciscan monk. He admitted molesting one of the boys while they were on a religious pilgrimage to Bosnia.

He was released from prison in 2003.

Information from: Santa Cruz Sentinel, www.santacruzsentinel.com