SACRAMENTO (CA)
The Sacramento Bee
By Cynthia Hubert
chubert@sacbee.com
By Cynthia Hubert
The Sacramento Bee
A young priest accused of molesting a teenage girl stood, head bowed, inside a Sacramento courtroom jail cell Thursday as lawyers argued whether he was a threat to the community.
During a contentious bail hearing on behalf of the Rev. Uriel Ojeda, a deputy district attorney told Judge Marjorie Koller that the priest had confessed to sexually abusing the girl, who belonged to the Woodland parish where he served until 2009. Prosecutor Allison Dunham said the priest confessed to an investigator for the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento shortly after being informed of the allegations.
“The defendant admitted to molesting the child,” Dunham said.
Ojeda’s lawyer, Sacramento defense attorney Jesse Ortiz, disputed Dunham’s account and said his client is being punished by diocesan officials who dislike him.
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