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	Prosecutors Decline to File Charges against Priest Accused of Rape The Associated Press, carried in The Mercury News April 26, 2006 http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/ news/breaking_news/14430406.htm SARATOGA, Calif. - Prosecutors said Tuesday there is not enough evidence to file charges against a Sacred Heart Parish priest accused of raping a 29-year-old woman in a motel room. The Rev. Randy Benas, 45, was arrested last month after a 29-year-old woman he had been counseling over the phone accused him of raping her. "We did not file criminal charges because we did not believe that there was sufficient evidence to prove the crime beyond a reasonable doubt," said Victoria Brown, head of the Santa Clara County district attorney's sexual assault division. Benas still faces an investigation by the Roman Catholic church that will determine his clerical future. Benas could not be reached for comment but his father, Emilio Benas, told the San Jose Mercury News that he was pleased with the development. "We are very much thankful for that," he said, declining further comment. Sunnyvale police Deputy Chief Dayton Pang said the department stands by the arrest. "This doesn't mean that there was not a crime and that there wasn't sex going on between Father Benas and the victim," Pang said. "It just comes down to whether the district attorney's office has enough to prosecute him for a crime."
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