A priest from the Diocese of Oakland arrested for mistreating children

March 31, 2019, 22:21 GMT

By Alex Johnson

A priest from the Catholic Diocese of Oakland, Calif., Was detained on Sunday for indictment of lewd and lascivious acts with a child, according to court records.

Hector David Mendoza-Vela, 42, director of the parish of the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Fremont, was detained in an Alameda County jail on bail of $ 900,000, in the US. waiting for an indictment on Tuesday.

Alaskan County sheriff's sergeant Ray Kelly said Sunday that Mendoza-Vela was detained on Friday for 30 counts of mistreatment of a single child for a period of 18 months starting in 2016, when Mendoza-Vela worked at St. John's Catholic Church in San Lorenzo. Kelly added that the investigators were not aware of any other case in San Lorenzo involving Mendoza-Vela and any cases in Fremont.

Diocesan archives show that Mendoza-Vela emigrated from El Salvador in 2008 to the United States and attended St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California.

Michael C. Barber, Bishop of Oakland, said in a letter to the parishioners that Mendoza-Vela had been suspended immediately pending the investigation.

"Although we do not have all the details, the alleged behavior is clearly a violation of the Diocesan Code of Conduct and the Charter for the Protection of Children and Youth," said Barber. He said that under diocesan politics, he would have no other comments.