BEAVERTON (OR)
Santa Monica Daily Press [Santa Monica, CA]
April 18, 2023
By Matthew Hall
A former employee of St. Monica’s Catholic church has been arrested in Oregon as part of a sting operation targeting child predators.
Sean Baba, 29, was one of six individuals identified and arrested by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office last week. According to the Sheriff’s Office, investigators used multiple dating applications, social media sites, and other online platforms to pose as underage boys and girls.
“The people contacted the profiles online and offered to meet a person they believed to be a child for sex,” said a press release from the Sheriff’s Office. “When the people arrived to meet the child, they were instead contacted by law enforcement and arrested.”
Baba, along with the other suspects, are being charged with felonies for luring a minor and online sexual corruption of a child in the first degree.
At the time of his arrest, Baba was working as the Director of Music Ministry at St. Pius X Church and School in the Cedar Mill community.
Prior to working in Oregon, he served as the Choral Section Leader at St. Monica’s for two years and a Teaching ARtist at SOL-LA Music Academy in Santa Monica. He also worked at Sl Joan of Arc Catholic Church, Nativity Catholic Church and at Loyola High School.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles released a statement following the arrest confirming Baba’s employment in the Los Angeles area.
“From 2016 to 2019, Mr. Baba had served as a music minister in limited capacity at St. Monica (Santa Monica), St. Joan of Arc (Los Angeles) and Nativity (Torrance) parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The Archdiocese and the referenced parishes have no prior reports of alleged sexual misconduct concerning Mr. Baba.He was in compliance with Archdiocese fingerprinting and safe environment training protocols,” said the statement.
They said locals with specific information were encouraged to contact their local law enforcement agencies and that Dr. Heather Banis, Victims Assistance Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is available at (213) 637-7650 or HBanis@la-archdiocese.org is also available.
“The Archdiocese stands against any sexual misconduct and is resolute in our support for victim-survivors of abuse,” said the statement. “We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to ensuring that parishes, schools and ministries are safe places for everyone in our community. For more information on the abuse prevention and protection efforts of the Archdiocese, visit lacatholics.org/protect.”
The Sheriff’s Office said they regularly conduct undercover operations, both full-scale stings and day-to-day chats, targeting child predators.
They said the pro-active investigations are a response to the thousands of child abuse reports they receive each year and parents are encouraged to help their children be safe online.
The other suspects arrested in the sweep were: Henry Banegas Interiano, 26, of Portland. Ethan Caddy, 19, of Vancouver. Te’Vari Jenkins, 26, of Gresham. Sincere Peoples, 21, of Beaverton. Jackson T. West, 27, of Portland.
Detectives are concerned there may be more victims of these six people and are asking anyone with additional information to call the Sheriff’s Office at 503-846-2700.