DALLAS (TX)
CNN
May 15, 2019
By Ray Sanchez and Rosa Flores
Maj. Max Geron of the special investigations division said the raids are related to five new allegations of sexual abuse that emerged after police issued an arrest warrant for a priest named Edmundo Paredes, who was previously assigned to St. Cecilia’s parish in Dallas.
The parish was one of the locations searched on Wednesday, along with the diocese headquarters and a storage facility, Geron said.
“In addition to the allegations against Mr. Paredes, detectives are investigating at least 5 additional allegations of child abuse against other suspects,” Geron told reporters.
“These investigations stem from additional allegations made after the case against Mr. Paredes
became public.”
In August, the diocese informed parishioners at St. Cecilia of allegations of sexual abuse by Paredes, the former pastor. The alleged criminal offenses occurred more than a decade ago, church officials said.
The raid comes as the church — both in the United States and around the world — wrestles with a fresh wave of scandals that have spurred criminal investigations, roiled the faithful and damaged the institution’s moral credibility.
The raids took the diocese by surprise since church officials have been cooperating with authorities for months, according to Catholic Diocese of Dallas spokeswoman Annette Gonzales Taylor.
“We feel like we were being transparent,” Gonzales Taylor told CNN.
The diocese was not subpoenaed, she said.
The search warrants were executed at various properties Wednesday, including the pastoral center and administrative offices, Taylor said.
Taylor said police were looking for files of priests who were on a list released by the diocese earlier this year of clergy who had been the subject of credible accusations.
In January, every Catholic diocese in Texas released the names of all priests, deacons and other clergy members accused of sexually abusing children in the past decades.
At least 298 clergy members across the state have faced “credible abuse” allegations going back to the 1940s, according to the lists compiled by the 15 Texas dioceses.
Leading the number of clergy members accused is the Archdiocese of San Antonio — the largest one in the state — with 56 priests and other clergy listed. Next is the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and the dioceses of Dallas, El Paso and Amarillo.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.