OREGON
The Oregonian
By Emily E. Smith | The Oregonian/OregonLive
on August 18, 2015
Father Ysrael Bien logged on to a spy-gear website and paid $295 for the hidden camera that was discovered last spring in a Sherwood church bathroom, according to information turned over to police this week.
The camera, designed to look like an electrical outlet, came from the online retailer SpyGuy Security based in Dallas, Texas. Police served a search warrant for transaction records there Monday after the business tipped them off.
A Washington County judge signed a warrant Tuesday for Bien’s arrest on misdemeanor charges of invasion of privacy, tampering with evidence and initiating a false report, but police think the priest may not be in the U.S.
They did not find him at his last known address in Sherwood. Another priest there told them that Bien had left the country. Officers believe Bien left on June 30, said Capt. Ty Hanlon, a police spokesman.
Bien, who led the congregation at St. Francis Catholic Church, has been on administrative leave since June 24, when the Archdiocese of Portland suspended him because of his involvement in the investigation.
Church leaders learned that Bien had gone to visit family in The Philippines only after he’d left, the archdiocese said.
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