CLEVELAND (OH)
Cleveland.com [Cleveland, OH]
October 24, 2023
By Molly Walsh | mwalsh@cleveland.com
A former priest was arrested Monday and accused of molesting a 15-year-old girl who is ill with cancer.
A local Catholic priest called Westlake Police Department to report “a disturbing incident” involving Luis Jesus Barajas, 76, who was visiting the area and performing spiritual ceremonies in Spanish for Hispanic residents in the area.
Barajas, who has been staying with families in Lorain County, was driven to a home in Westlake on Oct. 10 to bless a 15-year-old girl who is undergoing chemotherapy.
Witnesses told police Barajas touched the girl inappropriately during the blessing, police said.
“Mr. Barajas’ used blankets and clothing to hide some of his actions from witnesses, but his touching made several uncomfortable. Witnesses said Barajas’ movements were ‘unconventional’ compared to past blessings they had seen,” a police report said.
Barajas, from Colombia, had been accused in the past of sexual misconduct with children, police said.
He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1982 but removed from the priesthood and sent back to Colombia after being accused of sexual misconduct involving juveniles in the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in about 1989.
Barajas was arrested in Virginia in 2019 on a felony charge of misconduct with a minor. He has been “acting in the capacity of trusted family friend and as church clergy,” then as well, police said.
Westlake police arrested Barajas at a home in the 100 block of Hillsdale Court in Elyria on Monday, according to Rocky River Municipal Court records. He is charged with gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony.
Barajas was also served a protection order for no contact with the victim and is expected to appear in court Tuesday.