DOWNINGTOWN (PA)
Daily Local News
March 6, 2019
A priest who previously served at two Chester County churches and a Montgomery County church has been arrested on allegations that he raped a teenage girl who was a member of a church in Philadelphia where he was pastor, charges that stem from incidents that occurred after he left the local parishes, according to authorities.
The Rev. Armand D. Garcia, 49, was arrested March 5 on three counts of rape, corruption of a minor and sexual abuse of a minor, as well as recording a sex act. He served at St. Joseph’s Church in Downingtown from 2005 to 2008, and at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Tredyffrin in 2011, according to records.
He also served at St. Eleanor in Collegeville.
Ordained in 2005 and lastly a former pastor of St. Martin of Tours Parish in Northeast Philadelphia, Garcia is alleged to have committed the crimes in August 2014. He had been suspended by the archdiocese after the allegations came to light and police began their investigation.
At the time of the alleged events, he was parochial vicar at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in the city’s Roxborough section. He was assigned to the parish in 2011 after having taken a voluntary personal leave from ministry the prior year for unexplained reasons.
The year-long investigation into his conduct by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office spans from 2014 to 2017, during his term at St. Martin’s, according to a statement from the archdiocese.
The charges against Garcia “are serious and disturbing,” said Ken Gavin, a spokesman for the archdiocese.
“The archdiocese is cooperating fully with law enforcement regarding this matter and remains fervently committed to preventing child abuse as well as protecting the children and young people entrusted to its care,” said Gavin in a statement.
Details of the complaint against Garcia were sketchy, as no information was released from the District Attorney’s Office. The alleged victim was reported to be a former altar girl at Immaculate Heart church, and the sex acts between the two are alleged to have taken place at Garcia’s residence in the church.
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