OREGON
The Oregonian
By Nancy Haught, The Oregonian
The arrest of the Rev. Angel Armando Perez, pastor of St. Luke Catholic Church in Woodburn, is the first real-time accusation against a priest of the Archdiocese of Portland in many years and, perhaps because of the Catholic clergy sex scandal, the complaint about him went first to the police, not the archdiocese.
Perez, 46, was arrested Monday afternoon after a complaint alleging inappropriate contact between the priest and a 12-year-old boy. Perez faces arraignment today in Marion County Circuit Court on accusations of sexual abuse, use of a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct and furnishing alcohol to a minor.
When police arrived to take Perez in for questioning, a member of the parish staff called the Archdiocese of Portland, according to Bud Bunce, a church spokesman. Perez immediately was placed on administrative leave as required by the archdiocese’s child protection policy. He is not allowed to say Mass or perform any priestly duties, Bunce said. The archdiocese will complete its own investigation once the legal process is complete, he said.
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