WASHINGTON (DC)
WTOP

September 4, 2019

By Neal Augenstein

A Catholic priest convicted of sexually abusing two girls at a D.C. church is seeking a new trial, saying he was unfairly prejudiced, and denied a fair trial in D.C. Superior Court.

Urbano Vazquez, 47, was found guilty on all four counts Aug. 15, after a seven-day jury trial. The crimes happened between 2015 and 2017, while Vazquez was an assistant pastor at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, in the Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights neighborhoods in Northwest D.C.

Vazquez was convicted of one count of second-degree child sexual abuse of a 13-year-old. He was found guilty of two counts of second-degree child sexual abuse and one count of misdemeanor sexual abuse of a child who was nine.

Vazquez faces a maximum sentence of 45 years plus 270 days when he’s sentenced by Judge Juliet McKenna on Nov. 22.