CALIFORNIA
Modesto Bee
By Andy Furillo — afurillo@sacbee.com
Attorneys have scheduled a crucial pretrial hearing for next week on whether statements the Rev. Uriel Ojeda made to church officials before his arrest on child molestation charges can be used against him at trial.
Ojeda has claimed a “penitent’s privilege” for the statements he made to two employees of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento after they drove up to the Redding parish where he worked to question him about the sexual abuse allegations made by the family of a 14-year-old girl.
Sources said Friday that Sacramento prosecutors have offered Ojeda an eight-year deal if he enters a plea in the case, and Sacramento Superior Court Judge Eugene L. Balonon’s ruling on the issue of the privilege could go a long way toward affecting the priest’s decision whether to accept an agreement.
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