Priest Extradited from Philippines Pleads Guilty to 2 Counts

Cache Valley Daily
May 17, 2018

http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/national/article_a5e43bfc-b0e3-5a26-bf86-6ce7ecc03383.html

A Roman Catholic priest accused of molesting two boys in North Dakota in the 1990s has pleaded guilty to two counts of felony gross sexual imposition.

Court documents show that Fernando Sayasaya entered the pleas Thursday during a scheduling conference. He's accused of abusing two underage siblings from 1995 to 1998, while he was assigned to the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and St. Mary's Cathedral in the Fargo area.

Sayasaya was returned to the United States in December from the Philippines, where he had been since 1998.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 30. Sayasaya faces up to 20 years in prison.

A Philippines court ordered Sayasaya's extradition in 2010. He appealed, lost and was ultimately arrested in November.

Pat O'Day, Sayasaya's attorney, did not return a phone message seeking comment.