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	Priest Accused of Rape on Leave from Church The Associated Press, carried in KGW [California] April 4, 2006 http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8GPF3982.html A Sacred Heart Parish priest arrested on a charge of raping a 29-year-old Oregon woman in a motel room was placed on paid administrative leave, church officials said. The Rev. Randy Benas, 45, lives at the church's Saratoga campus but is no longer assigned to a parish, Roberta Ward, spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose, said Monday. Benas was arrested Thursday on suspicion of rape after a police sting involving three phone calls between Benas and the woman, police said. The woman was not identified. Police said Benas counseled the woman over the phone for a year after she sent letters to various priests seeking spiritual guidance. She claims she was raped at a Motel 6 in Sunnyvale after stopping to visit Benas on her way to San Diego. Benas was released on $200,000 bail Friday, police said. Church officials said the diocese did not provide bail. Another official at the Saratoga campus, Monsignor Alexander Larkin, resigned last year amid child molestation accusations.
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