OAKLAND (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle

July 17, 2020

By Matthias Gafni

Five months after the Catholic Diocese of Oakland placed the Rev. Varghese “George” Alengadan on leave following accusations of inappropriate behavior, the Alameda County district attorney announced Friday that the priest has been charged with one count of misdemeanor sexual battery involving a woman last year while he oversaw St. Joseph Basilica.

Alengadan, 67, unlawfully touched “an intimate part of Jane Doe” against her will and for his sexual arousal, Assistant District Attorney Michael Nieto alleged in a complaint signed Thursday. He allegedly assaulted the woman on July 24, 2019, the same month four diocese employees and one volunteer at the Alameda church made sexual harassment claims against Alengadan. Last fall, the diocese conducted its own investigation and found the priest engaged in inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature with the women, leading to his resignation from his…