April 20, 2006

Charges still pending against Saratoga priest accused of rape

SARATOGA (CA)
Mercury News

Knight Ridder
Prosecutors said Wednesday that the case of a Saratoga Roman Catholic priest arrested in connection with an alleged rape of a 29-year-old woman was still pending.

The Rev. Randy Benas has been out on $200,000 bail since a day after his arrest March 30. No charges have been filed, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

Benas is on paid leave by the Diocese of San Jose from Saratoga's Sacred Heart Parish. Police said Benas met the alleged victim, an Oregon woman, at a Sunnyvale Motel 6 on March 28 after a year of long-distance counseling. A local hospital official alerted police after treating the woman.

Posted by kshaw at April 20, 2006 02:42 PM