By Rebecca Baker
The Journal News
May 13, 2009
http://lohud.com/article/2009905130368
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| Richard Ordonez |
A visiting priest charged with fondling a parishioner at a Mamaroneck church five years ago maintained his innocence yesterday and pleaded not guilty to felony sex abuse charges.
The Rev. Richard Ordonez, who had been living at St. Vito's Church, was arraigned in Westchester County Court in White Plains on three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of first-degree attempted sexual abuse.
More than a dozen parishioners accompanied Ordonez, 37, a native of Ecuador and a member of the Salesians order, into the courtroom to show their support.
After the arraignment they followed him out and surrounded him, speaking to him in Spanish.
"They love him dearly and they're standing by him," said Ordonez's lawyer, Mary L. Bejarano, a private attorney from Queens. "They believe in his innocence."
Ordonez, who gave marriage counseling to the victim from Jan. 12 to 23, 2004, is accused of grabbing her breasts and attempting to sexually assault her at the Underhill Avenue church, where he had a bedroom. She fled the counseling session and avoided him.
Police said the woman came forward in September 2008 after learning that Ordonez, who had left the area, would be returning to the parish.
Ordonez was arrested Dec. 8 by police at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he was about to board a plane with a one-way ticket to Ecuador.
He knew he was under investigation and had given a statement to police two days earlier. He has since been ordered to surrender his Canadian and Ecuadorean passports.
Ordonez has no criminal record and was in this country legally with a green card. He has been credited with reaching out to the parish's Hispanic immigrant population, celebrating Mass in Spanish, English and Italian.
He appeared yesterday before County Judge Jeffrey A. Cohen. If convicted of the top charge, Ordonez could face up to seven years in state prison.
He remains free on $50,000 bail.
Ordonez's privileges to serve as a priest in the area were revoked and he probably could not serve as a priest anywhere else, said Joseph Zwilling, spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York.
The diocese has no plans to look into the allegations and has deferred the matter to police and prosecutors, in part because Ordonez is not from the diocese.
The Rev. James Healy, the pastor at St. Vito's Church, said Ordonez is no longer staying at the church but declined to comment further.
Contact: rebaker@lohud.com
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