By Jean Whitney and Knight Ridder
Mercury News
April 4, 2006
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/
news/local/crime_courts/14258619.htm
A Saratoga priest arrested in connection with the rape of a 29-year-old Oregon woman seeking spiritual guidance was put on administrative leave from Sacred Heart Parish, church officials said Monday.
The Rev. Randy Benas, 45, was arrested Thursday at the Saratoga church after Valley Medical Center's sexual assault unit alerted Sunnyvale police to a possible link.
"It's all alleged," said Roberta Ward, director of media relations for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose. "Father Benas is presumed innocent until proven guilty."
 |
|
The Rev. Randy Benas of Sacred Heart Parish in Saratoga was booked Thursday on sexual assault charges. Photo by the Sunnyvale Police Department |
Benas will continue to be paid but is no longer assigned to a church, Ward said. He lives at the church's Saratoga campus.
"The Diocese of San Jose is committed to following its policies and will cooperate fully with the civil authorities. We offer Father Benas, his accuser and the people of Sacred Heart Parish our prayers," a statement from the diocese said Monday.
Benas was released on $200,000 bail late Friday, police said. The diocese did not provide bail but Benas has family members in the area, church officials said.
Sunnyvale police said they arrested Benas based on a sting involving three phone calls between Benas and the woman. Police did not name the woman.
Benas apparently met the Grants Pass, Ore., woman Tuesday at a Motel 6 on Mathilda Avenue in Sunnyvale. The pair had previously kept up a yearlong correspondence after Benas replied to letters she sent out to a number of people, seeking spiritual guidance. The woman stopped in Sunnyvale on her way to San Diego.
The Saratoga parish has been riveted by sexual allegations. Monsignor Alexander Larkin resigned last year amid accusations of child molestation. A lay minister at the parish, Liz Lilly, indicated Friday the congregation was stunned by Benas' arrest and had not heard from him since.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.