LOS ANGELES (CA)
Union-Tribune
By Gillian Flaccus
ASSOCIATED PRESS
1:29 p.m. December 21, 2004
LOS ANGELES – A young man testified in court Tuesday that a Roman Catholic priest molested him in the cleric's bedroom in 2001.
The witness was the first of three to be called during a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to try the Rev. Fernando Lopez on abuse charges.
Lopez, 40, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of felony lewd acts with a child, a felony count of sexual battery by restraint, two misdemeanor counts of child molestation and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery.
The priest, who was suspended by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in July, was arrested in September and is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
The preliminary hearing was delayed nearly three hours because court officials had to find a room big enough to accommodate 80 parishioners who showed up to support Lopez.
The first witness, a 23-year-old man whose name is being withheld, said he was abused about four years ago in a building near St. Thomas the Apostle Church after he sought out Lopez for advice because he was feeling depressed and alone.
Testifying through a Spanish-language interpreter, the witness said Lopez invited him to his bedroom, helped the victim undress and then forced him to masturbate Lopez.
Posted by kshaw at December 21, 2004 05:25 PM