“You admitted to sexually assaulting a child, which in and of itself is an absolutely horrendous crime,” Santoli said during the sentencing, according to media reports.
But Barajas further “took advantage” of the family’s need for a priest during a difficult time, Santoli said, “and that warrants a serious consequence.”
The Diocese of Harrisburg in a statement last year identified Barajas as a “laicized priest.”
This is not the first time Barajas has been linked to inappropriate conduct toward minors.
Pennsylvania’s 2018 grand jury report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church claimed that a priest in Harrisburg in the late 1980s had relayed “allegations” regarding Barajas’ “associations with the youth of the parish.” He had been employed with the Office of the Vicar for the Spanish-Speaking People, according to the grand jury report.
Some parishioners had also allegedly relayed “accusations of child molestation” to the priest regarding Barajas, though the priest said he “questioned their credibility.”
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