SARATOGA (CA)
The Mercury News
Associated Press
SARATOGA, Calif. - Prosecutors said Tuesday there is not enough evidence to file charges against a Sacred Heart Parish priest accused of raping a 29-year-old woman in a motel room.
The Rev. Randy Benas, 45, was arrested last month after a 29-year-old woman he had been counseling over the phone accused him of raping her.
"We did not file criminal charges because we did not believe that there was sufficient evidence to prove the crime beyond a reasonable doubt," said Victoria Brown, head of the Santa Clara County district attorney's sexual assault division.
Benas still faces an investigation by the Roman Catholic church that will determine his clerical future.