OREGON
The Oregonian
By Emily E. Smith | The Oregonian/OregonLive
on July 07, 2015
In the 24 days he waited to report that a boy had found a hidden camera in a men’s bathroom at his Sherwood church, Father Ysrael Bien pacified parishioners with a tall tale about a nonexistent police investigation, according to court records.
Police believe Bien, 34, was either responsible for the camera or aided and abetted whoever was, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Washington County Circuit Court.
The Catholic priest “is a part of the investigation,” Capt. Ty Hanlon said Tuesday, though police have not named him as a suspect.
A 15-year-old boy found the camera April 26 at St. Francis Catholic Church, the affidavit says. He discovered it in a bathroom with a single toilet and a door to the vesting room, where altar servers and the priest prepare for Mass.
The teenager noticed an electrical outlet affixed to the wall at waist-height next to the toilet, the records say. He thought that was a strange place for an outlet, so he pulled it from the wall and brought it to the priest. The fixture appeared to be a disguised camera.
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