Former Fargo Catholic Priest Pleads Not Guilty to Molesting Boys

By Joe Radske
KVRR
February 14, 2018

http://www.kvrr.com/2018/02/14/former-fargo-catholic-priest-pleads-not-guilty-molesting-boys/

Fernando Sayasaya appears in a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, in District Court, Fargo, for two counts of gross sexual imposition in 1997. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

Fernando Sayasaya, the former Fargo Catholic priest accused of molesting two underage boys, plead not guilty in a Cass County Court this morning.

Sayasaya, 53, waived his preliminary hearing.

His next court date will be in April.

In December, Sayasaya’s bail was set at $5 million dollars because prosecutors consider him a flight risk.

Over the course of 19 years, it took the Fargo and West Fargo Police Departments, the FBI, U.S. Marshals and the Philippines national police to capture and bring former Catholic priest Fernando Sayasaya back to North Dakota.

Sayasaya fled to the Philippines around Christmas of 1998 and was returned to Fargo last year.

He’s accused of molesting two teenage brothers between 1995 and 1998.

Sayasaya faces 20 years in prison if he is convicted.

The Fargo Diocese removed Sayasaya from the church when allegations were made against him in 1998.

He was a priest at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fargo and Blessed Sacrament in West Fargo.

Cass County filed charges against him in 2002 and a federal indictment was returned against him in 2003.