(ANSA) - Rome, January 15 - Police said Wednesday that a man
arrested for allegedly molesting four boys at a parish outside
Milan is a former member of the popular pop-rock band Modà.
Paolo Bovi, 40, was a keyboard player with the band and
also a former lay schoolworker at the parish, where he allegedly
molested the boys in 2011 when the victims were between the ages
of 13 and 16.
Investigators said he touched the boys as "penalties"
during games they would play.
Priests reportedly removed him after learning of the episodes. The band expressed shock at the allegations against Bovi, who is required to wear a tracking device while under house arrest. "We are chilled at the very idea this could happen...we had no inkling," the band said in a statement. "We hope that the judiciary will soon conclude its investigations and that the outcome is not as terrifying as it (sounds)". Bovi, who has no prior police record, reportedly grew up in the same parish on the outskirts of Milan. Although he left the band several years ago, Bovi worked behind the scenes as a sound engineer for the band during the popular San Remo music festival in 2011 and 2013.
Priests reportedly removed him after learning of the episodes. The band expressed shock at the allegations against Bovi, who is required to wear a tracking device while under house arrest. "We are chilled at the very idea this could happen...we had no inkling," the band said in a statement. "We hope that the judiciary will soon conclude its investigations and that the outcome is not as terrifying as it (sounds)". Bovi, who has no prior police record, reportedly grew up in the same parish on the outskirts of Milan. Although he left the band several years ago, Bovi worked behind the scenes as a sound engineer for the band during the popular San Remo music festival in 2011 and 2013.
