CALIFORNIA
Modesto Bee
By JOHN HOLLAND
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: May 13, 2005, 06:50:56 AM PDT
The Rev. Oscar Pelaez, a Roman Catholic priest who pleaded guilty in 2002 to molesting a Turlock boy, has been released from state prison, officials said Thursday.
Pelaez, 38, was paroled Tuesday after serving nearly three years of a six-year sentence for molesting the youth, the California Department of Corrections reported. The victim attended Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Turlock, where Pelaez once served.
Pelaez's new place of residence could not be determined Thursday. A brief form from the state agency said he was released in Parole Region 1, which includes all of the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada. A spokesman said he did not have more precise information.
The Diocese of Stockton, overseeing Catholic churches in the Northern San Joaquin Valley and central Sierra, issued a news release Thursday announcing Pelaez's parole. Sister Terry Davis, a diocese spokeswoman, said it is working with his parole officer, but she did not know his new location either.
Posted by kshaw at May 13, 2005 10:17 AM