Ma of Sex Abuse Victim Wants Priest Arrested Phil Star September 8, 2002 http://www.philstar.com/nation/175161/ma-sex-abuse-victim-wants-priest-arrested LABRADOR, Pangasinan: The mother of the victim of a sexual abuse in Florida, United States allegedly committed by a priest from this town is seeking justice and wants the suspect behind bars. Marie Zinsmayer, mother of Melissa Price, 31, of New Port Richey in Gulport, Florida, is wondering why Father Polienato Bernabe, 61, of Labrador, Pangasinan is scot-free as he is believed to have returned to the Philippines. The crime was committed in Florida when the victim was still 8 years old when Bernabe was assigned there in the 1970s and 1980s. In her e-mail to the local paper, The Sunday Punch dated Sept. 3, Zinsmayer wrote publisher Ermin Garcia: "You have a priest who is from Labrador, Pangasinan and he is wanted in Florida for capital sexual abuse. Why are there no stories about this? His name is Polienato Bernabe, he is hiding in the Philippines and should be punished for his crimes. As a newspaper from the town, I'm surprised that you have not had any stories on this. Please don't let this person hide. Write about him and do some investigational stories." Based on a Tampa Tribune report, the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office has issued an arrest warrant charging Polienato with having sex two decades ago with an 8 or 9-year-old girl with a cast on her leg. Price believes that Polienato has returned to the Philippines. A source from the St. Petersburg Diocese said that Bernabe was stripped of his authority to perform priestly duties in 1989 when he left. Reliable sources told The STAR that Bernabe has been seen in Pangasinan in several gatherings. A priest who requested anonymity said that during the clergy day held last February at the Mary Help of Christians Seminary in Binmaley town, Bernabe was seen by many priests who were not aware about the case he was facing.  Eva de Leon

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