FRESNO (CA)
KFSN 30 ABC
November 2, 2020
By Corin Hoggard
A Catholic priest with a past got removed from his church in Selma this weekend over a story of sex, drugs, and weapons.
“You don’t expect a priest to be packed, to have those type of weapons,” said legal analyst Ralph Torres.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno got a restraining order to protect church employees — all the way up to Bishop Joseph Brennan — from one of their own priests.
Father Guadalupe Rios still has his name on the church marquee at St. Joseph’s Church in Selma, but the man himself is not allowed within 100 yards of the property.
Several parishioners told us they knew Rios was either in a gang or affiliated with one, as the diocese mentioned in their application for a restraining order against him.
Parishioners have also seen social media photos of Rios with an AK-47 or an AR-556 or a .357 Magnum.
So they were afraid to be interviewed.
“The fact that he is having photographs published like that, to me, would be a little disturbing and certainly something you would think the bishop would’ve nipped in the bud,” said Melanie Sakoda, a survivor support specialist for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
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