Former Roman Catholic priest Jamie Adolfo Gonzalez-Farias entered a guilty plea Friday (August 11) on charges relating to transporting an 11-year-old boy with an intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
According to the US Attorney's Office of South Carolina, Gonzalez-Farias admitted he "transported a minor victim from South Carolina to Florida with the intent to commit lewd and lascivious exhibition and lewd and lascivious molestation," the Catholic News Agency reported.
The 68-year-old ex-priest was arrested last January in relation to the charges while visiting Charleston from Chile.
A federal indictment at the time accused him of "us[ing] a facility and means of interstate and foreign commerce" to "persuade, induce, entice, and coerce" an 11-year-old victim "to engage in sexual activity" in an incident back in November 2020.
Investigators also recovered text messages from WhatsApp from Gonzalez-Farias to the victim that were "consistent with the victim's disclosures."
Gonzalez-Farias also admitted to having "showered with the victim," "touched the minor victim's genitals," and showed the boy pornographic items. The Associated Press also said the ex-priest also lavished gifts and attention on the boy.
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In its part, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston had previously listed the visiting priest as a clergyman with a credible allegation of child sex abuse. Church officials added they were made aware of Gonzalez-Farias's sexual misconduct allegations in December 2020, "after he had left the country for his home in Chile." The diocese also said they reported the matter to the Laurens County Sheriff's Office, which eventually informed the FBI of the crimes.
The boy's parents also contacted Catholic authorities about the inappropriate relationship, leading to the clergyman's suspension.
Gonzalez-Farias was thoroughly subjected to multiple background checks and found no indication of any criminal activity in his record prior to the allegations, the diocese added.
Church officials have yet to comment on the guilty plea as of this report.
Gonzalez-Farias, who was ordained back in 1990, will be sentenced at a later date per the recommendations of the US Probation Office. He would face up to life in prison for his crimes as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. He must also register as a sex offender.
The FBI said it was still seeking information about any other potential victims of Gonzalez-Farias.
