NEW JERSEY
Clay Center Dispatch

ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) — A former New Jersey priest who fled to Ecuador more than a decade ago after a teen boy accused him of sexual assault has been indicted.

Union County prosecutors say a grand jury indicted 52-year-old Manuel Espinoza on sexual assault and criminal sexual contact charges.

The boy told another priest and a nun in 2003 that Espinoza sexually assaulted him in the rectory of St. Mary’s Church in Plainfield.

A church review board later deemed the allegation was credible.

NJ.com says Espinoza previously admitted to sexually assaulting the teen, calling it a mistake and saying the boy enticed him.