Father Angel Armando Perez, a 46-year-old Catholic priest at Saint Luke Catholic Church in Woodburn, was arrested earlier this week for allegedly fondling a 12-year-old boy. I waited a few days to post this story because I had a feeling people would have a lot to say about this case. I was right too. What Perez is accused of doing is so outrageous that it sounds like a made for TV movie. Here is the story:
An irresponsible mother allowed her son to spend the night alone with a local Catholic priest. The priest, Angel Perez, alleged gave the boy beer while they watched TV together. After the boy passed out on an air mattress, the priest fondled the boy and took photos with his camera phone. The boy woke up during the abuse and fled the house. The priest followed in his underwear. A local man protected the boy from the priest and made sure he got back to his family. The priest went to the victims house, admitted his crime, and then begged forgiveness. The priest later claimed he was too drunk to remember what he had done but not too drunk to drive the victims house. You can read the whole story here.
The victim’s mother is proud of her son.
The mother said she is still in shock, but that she is proud of how quickly her son got away from a bad situation.
Immediately after the incident, the boy ran from the priest’s Woodburn house while Perez chased him down the street in his underwear, the court record states. Residents standing outside at the time took the boy to his sister’s house, where he told her “Father Angel touched me in my privates,” according to court documents.
I think the mother and father are idiots. Who leaves their children with a priest these days? Who lets their kids go on an un-chaperoned overnight trip with a priest? It’s like they served up the boy as a meal for a hungry pedophile. I don’t care if the mother taught her son what to do if somebody touched his privates, she should have taught her son that a priest is likely to be the person that does the touching. I hope the victim will come to know that his parents are just as much to blame for what happened to him as the priest.
The priest has a high-powered lawyer, which is good because he will need somebody to broker his sentencing. Of course, Archdiocese of Portland is paying for it, which makes no sense at all.
Angel Perez has hired attorney Marc Blackman and the Archdiocese of Portland has made him an open-ended loan to pay for the legal fees according to The Oregonian.
Good Catholics should rejoice in knowing that their donations are going towards defending an alleged pedophile.
Perez is being held without bail on numerous charges, including DUI.
Geez… it’s like a parade of stupid.
Hat tip to Soren HIll for sending me this story.
