Catholic Priest Arrested For Sexually Abusing Teenage Girl At Church

A priest at a Northwest Washington Catholic Church was arrested Wednesday for sexually abusing a teenager at the parish in 2015, officials said.

Urbano Vazquez, 46, of Northeast Washington, was a parochial vicar at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Northeast, Washington D.C, reports said. He was charged with second-degree child sexual abuse with regard to an incident that happened in May 2015.

The 13-year-old told police Vazquez put his hand down her shirt on two occasions and touched her bare skin. Police identified Vazquez as a “pastor of that church that abuse occurred at.”

“Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division, Physical and Sexual Abuse Branch have announced an arrest has been made in reference to a Second Degree Child Sexual Abuse offense that occurred in the 3200 block of Sacred Heart Way, Northwest,” the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement.

Vasquez was a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, a fellowship of priests. He was not directly ordained by the Archdiocese of Washington, Washington Post reported. Some Capuchins are granted permission to work by the archdiocese in its churches. Shrine of the Sacred Heart, a large parish in Columbia Heights, was one such church.

“On Friday, October 26, the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap.), which for many years has overseen the pastoral ministry and governance of Shrine of the Sacred Heart parish in Washington, informed the archdiocese that it had received an allegation of sexual abuse against Father Urbano Vazquez, OFM, Cap,” the archdiocese said in a statement published on its website. “The allegation was also reported to the D.C. Metropolitan Police. Father Vazquez has served as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart since 2014.”

It said Vasquez cleared a background check and accompanying requirements which is made mandatory for all employees and volunteers at the archdiocese.

“The Archdiocese of Washington takes seriously its responsibility to protect the children entrusted to its care. The Child Protection Policy of the Archdiocese of Washington mandates criminal background checks, applications and education for all employees and volunteers who work with young people,” the statement said.

The archdiocese added that Father Moises Villalta (OFM Cap.), a pastor at Sacred Heart failed to follow the appropriate protocols related to reporting allegations of abuse to authorities, and therefore he was removed. The parish’s child protection coordinator was placed on administrative leave for similar reasons.

“The Archdiocese follows a zero-tolerance policy for child protection matters, and the actions taken in this case are in line with such a policy,” It said.

Chieko Noguchi, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said in order to avoid disrupting the police investigation, the parishioners at Sacred Heart were not informed of the incident until Wednesday.

Vasquez was arrested under a D.C. superior court arrest warrant. Other details regarding his arrest were not available at the time of this report.