Priest charged with child molestation, removed from Downey parish by Archdiocese of L.A.
A Roman Catholic priest is facing five felony counts of child molestation and was removed from his Downey parish after being arrested by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies, records and officials said.
Father Jaime Arriaga, 41, remains in the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail on no bail after pleading not guilty Monday to assault with intent to commit a felony and four felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a person 14 to 15 by a person at least a decade older, according to court records.
"The archdiocese has a long-standing commitment to the protection of minors and reporting the prevention of abuse,' the Archdiocese said in a statement explaining its officials reported the priest to authorities.
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Arriaga, who also goes by Jaime Arriaga Pedroza, was surrendered to deputies last Thursday and arrested on suspicion of assault on a minor to commit a sexual offense. According to the charges, one of the alleged lewd acts occurred Feb. 8 and three on Feb. 9, while the assault with intent to commit a felony upon a minor involved a sexual offense.
L.A. County Sheriff's Capt. Erick Kim said the charges involve one victim, but Special Victims Unit detectives are seeking additional potential victims.
Clergy sex abuse scandals have rocked Catholic churches across the world, but few places have seen the financial toll of the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
Last October, the Archdiocese agreed to a record $880-million civil settlement with victims, bringing the payout by the largest diocese in the nation to more than $1.5 billion. The number of people alleging abuse now stands at nearly 2,500. The list of priests who abused within the Archdiocese includes more than 500 names, according to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. But in the wake of the massive scandal that exposed decades of cover-up, new allegations have become rare.
According to the Archdiocese, Arriaga was ordained in June 2024 and served as associate pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Downey.
Read more: In unprecedented payout, L.A. County will settle sex abuse claims for $4 billion
The Archdiocese of L.A. released a statement saying it received a report alleging misconduct on April 2. Arriaga was removed from ministry and surrendered to L.A. County Sheriff's deputies the following day.
In a statement read this past weekend at Our Lady of Perpetual Help and at St. Louis of France in La Puente — where Arriaga had served before being ordained — the Archdiocese informed parishioners that the priest had 'been removed from ministry as a result of a recent report of alleged sexual misconduct involving a minor..."
Parishioners were informed that the Archdiocese is cooperating with law enforcement. Links to a profile of the priest, including his photo, were removed from the Archdiocese website.
According to information previously posted by the Archdiocese, Arraiga is a native of Tenancingo, Tlaxcala, in Mexico.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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