PUERTO RICO
CNN
[with video]
By Rafael Romo, Senior Latin American Affairs Editor
(CNN) — U.S. authorities Tuesday arrested a Roman Catholic priest in Puerto Rico on charges he sexually abused an altar boy.
U.S. Homeland Security agents arrested Israel Berrios Berrios, 58, at his residence in the Puerto Rican town of Naranjito. The Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory.
At a press conference after the arrest, Angel Melendez, a Puerto Rico-based special agent for Homeland Security Investigations, part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, alleged that Berrios was able to sexually abuse the minor after gaining the trust of the boy’s mother over several years.
By 2008, Berrios “was already considered part of (the alleged victim’s) family,” Melendez said.
“He convinced the (alleged victim’s) mother to give the young man permission to go on a cruise to the Bahamas,” on which Berrios shared a cabin with the boy, Melendez said.
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