NEW JERSEY
The Record
Friday, July 26, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
The case against a Passaic priest accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl was transferred to state court during his first appearance before a judge this morning.
The Rev. Jose Lopez Durango, a native of Colombia who is in the United States on a religious work visa, did not enter a plea on Friday. Prosecutors allege that in late January, while serving as an assistant priest at St. Mary’s Church of the Assumption, Durango put her on his lap and engaged in sexual contact with her at the church rectory after inviting the girl to this living quarters there.
During a seven-minute appearance in Passaic Municipal Court, the priest – wearing a blue polo shirt and slacks – answered questions from Judge Debbie Irwin through an interpreter and looked down at a podium he stood behind.
After Durango gave the address of the church as his residence, the judge stressed that he cannot live there as a condition of his bail. He then told the judge he was staying at a retirement home in Chester in Morris County.
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