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	Priest Still Sought In-Forum [Bismarck ND] December 9, 2004 BISMARCK -- A former Fargo and West Fargo priest who authorities believe fled to the Philippines to avoid sex crime charges told police and a friend that he would come back to face a jury if he could afford a plane ticket. The U.S. attorney is skeptical. The Rev. Fernando Sayasaya is accused of having sexual contact with two boys beginning in 1995. In December 2002, about four years after Sayasaya returned to his native Philippines, state prosecutors filed two felony charges in Cass County for gross sexual imposition. Authorities have not spoken to Sayasaya in two years, but they say they are still working to bring him back to Fargo. Cass County State's Attorney Birch Burdick said it is the first time his office has attempted to extradite someone from outside the United States, and it's a slow process. "It's not something that's done here on a daily basis," Burdick said. Sayasaya has said he would come back voluntarily if he had enough money to travel, West Fargo Detective Gregory Warren said. "He said he would be willing to come back," Warren said. "But he said he did not have the funds to come back." State and federal authorities say they are still trying to bring Sayasaya back to face a Cass County jury through legal channels, and by working with the Philippine government. "The extradition process is under way and has been," said U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley said. He does not believe it's a matter of money for Sayasaya, Wrigley said. "I support an alternative conclusion that he's a fugitive from justice," he said. Wrigley said his office filed a federal warrant against Sayasaya soon after he was charged in Cass County, in case he was still in the United States. When it was learned he was in the Philippines, Wrigley's office had to give way to the Office of International Affairs, he said. Retired Fargo physician Eusebio Mendoza describes Sayasaya as "an old friend." "He wants to cleanse himself," Mendoza said. "I suppose he feels guilty and wants to face it and get it over with and face the consequences." Warren said earlier that Sayasaya had admitted to the abuse. In court records, he admits to giving the boys alcohol and abusing them through sexual contact. Mendoza said it's been about two years since he spoke with Sayasaya, and he also said the priest cannot afford a plane ticket to Fargo. "I believe he also has some unmet financial obligations in this country," Mendoza said. Wrigley and Burdick had a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the case. The meeting came after a story in the Dallas Morning News, which conducted a yearlong investigation of the international movement of priests accused of sex crimes, including Sayasaya. The newspaper said Sayasaya works as an English instructor at a university in the Manila and quoted him as saying, "I'm really very careful with young people." Attempts to reach Sayasaya by phone on Tuesday were not successful, and no one answered his cell phone. Burdick said the Federal Bureau of Investigation has interviewed Sayasaya in the Philippines. He said local law enforcement officials also have talked to him on the telephone in recent years. "We have one goal and that is to bring him back here to face a jury," Burdick said. Neither Wrigley nor Burdick would say how long it might be before Sayasaya would be extradited. Both men said it's not as simple as sending the priest an airline ticket. Sayasaya was an associate pastor at St. Mary's church in Fargo and the Blessed Sacrament church in West Fargo in the mid-1990s. The Fargo Roman Catholic Diocese said earlier that Sayasaya was relieved of his duties as a priest in August 1998, when the allegations involving juveniles first surfaced. He was believed to have then fled to the Philippines. The Fargo diocese released a statement saying it "cooperates fully with law enforcement officials." Mendoza said diocese officials in 1998 asked him to tell Sayasaya to stay out of the United States. "A priest suggested that I warn him that the authorities are here waiting for him," Mendoza said. He said he could not remember the priest's name. Detective Warren said the Fargo diocese had been in contact with Sayasaya and told him to return to the United States. The detective said he has been told Sayasaya still works with young people in the Philippines. "I'm not happy about that at all," Warren said. "And I'd be surprised if the church was happy about it." Warren said authorities have not given up on getting Sayasaya back to the United Sates to face the sex crime charges. "I'm still convinced we're going to get him back here," Warren said. In a report last year, the Fargo Diocese said 17 priests and deacons have been accused of sexual abuse of minors since 1950. The diocese said it paid out $821,830 in compensation to alleged victims of sexual abuse and for counseling and attorney's fees to defend allegations against the clergy.
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