Former DeForest church staffer enters guilty plea in sexual abuse case

DEFOREST (WI)
DeForest Times Tribune [Waunakee, WI]

February 21, 2023

By Jonathan Stefonek

A former St. Olaf Church staff member accused of sexual misconduct with a young parishioner pleaded guilty to a single count of child enticement in a Feb. 20 hearing, with sentencing to be decided in April.

Rajnal Rehmat, 31, entered the plea in a hearing in Dane County Circuit Court on Monday. As part of a plea agreement, a separate charge of sexual assault was dismissed, but read into the record. Prosecutors agreed not to seek additional charges, while seeing a sentence of two years in prison and three years of extended supervision. Sentencing will be decided in an April 5 hearing.

Rehmat, who is originally from Pakistan, was in the country as a part of the Catholic organization Canons Regular of Jesus the Lord (CJD), according to a statement released by the Diocese of Madison. Rehmat had been working in parishes in DeForest and East Bristol.

The DeForest Police Department received a report of the alleged incidents on Nov. 28 by a Child Protective Services report from Dane County Human Services, according to the criminal complaint. According to the report, a 17-year-old girl had claimed that Rehmat had inappropriately touched her and sent her text messages.

https://www.hngnews.com/deforest_times/news/local/former-deforest-church-staffer-enters-guilty-plea-in-sexual-abuse-case/article_2d5e920e-b232-11ed-b67d-67c53c077297.html