Filipino priest wanted in US for alleged sex abuse

Bad form, Father.

A Filipino priest who served in a Dallas, Texas church for 27 years is now wanted by the police for allegedly sexually abusing teens.

Dallas police said on Tuesday, United States time, that they have issued an arrest warrant for Rev. Edmundo Paredes, 70 years old, formerly of the St. Cecilia Catholic Church, the NBC affiliate station in Dallas reported.

Paredes is currently missing and was earlier believed to have fled to the Philippines but Philippine authorities said in August that they had not located the priest.

In a statement from the Diocese of Dallas, it said that they immediately notified authorities upon learning about the alleged abuses in February last year, a CBS affiliate station in Dallas reported.

Another NBC report from August states that the accusations came from three adult men who were allegedly sexually abused by Paredes more than a decade ago when they were teenagers.

When the accusers came forward, the priest was already suspended for alleged theft. Church officials estimate that he stole anywhere from US$60,000 to US$80,000 in cash.

The sexual abuse allegations against Paredes were only made public in August.

The diocese said in its statement that they were prepared to announce it in March last year but that the alleged victims “asked that it not be made public out of their great fear that it would compromise their anonymity in the community.”

The three accusers have said that they did not want to press criminal charges against Paredes, an ABC affiliate station in Dallas reported.

However, the arrest warrant was issued last week after a fourth alleged victim came forward to the police, AP reported.

Paredes has been suspended and can no longer present himself as a priest, the ABC report states.