CALIFORNIA
KGW
04/04/2006
Associated Press
A Sacred Heart Parish priest arrested on a charge of raping a 29-year-old Oregon woman in a motel room was placed on paid administrative leave, church officials said.
The Rev. Randy Benas, 45, lives at the church's Saratoga campus but is no longer assigned to a parish, Roberta Ward, spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose, said Monday.
Benas was arrested Thursday on suspicion of rape after a police sting involving three phone calls between Benas and the woman, police said. The woman was not identified.
Police said Benas counseled the woman over the phone for a year after she sent letters to various priests seeking spiritual guidance. She claims she was raped at a Motel 6 in Sunnyvale after stopping to visit Benas on her way to San Diego.