Another Catholic priest sex abuse case has shocked the church community as a Philadelphia priest has been charged with raping a teenage girl and recording their sexual encounters.

Rev. Armand Garcia was arrested after a year-long investigation into allegations he raped a girl five years ago when he was assigned at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Roxborough. The girl was 16 years old at the time of the alleged rape.

Garcia is now 49 years old. When he was 44 years old, he allegedly served the girl alcohol and marijuana at the parish rectory, in his living area and other locations, according to anonymous sources who reported the allegations to The Inquirer.

The victim alleges the rape occurred in August of 2014, based on court records. She came forth in 2017 with the allegations after Garcia had transferred to St. Martin of Tours in Summerdale.

Garcia’s March 4 arrest came on the heels of the pope’s Vatican conference to stop sexual abuse committed by the clergy of the Catholic Church held late last month. The pope has been adamant that all sexual abusers will be removed from power within the church.

According to archdiocesan spokesman Kenneth Gavin, Garcia was ordained in 2005 after he was subject to a background check and proved he attended child protection training classes required by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Garcia was suspended by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput nearly a year ago after allegations of the rape came to light. Gavin also said the church has not been paying Garcia’s legal expenses.

Garcia was a regional representative for the National Association of Filipino Priests, but both his photo and his name have been removed from the website.

Catholic Priest Sex Abuse Allegations Include Videotaping Acts

Online court documents indicate he was arraigned on charges of rape, recording the act, and corruption of minors. After posting 10 percent of his $250,000, Garcia was released.

The archdiocese released a statement saying Garcia was placed on administrative leave effective March 16, 2018, which is the day police alerted the Catholic church to their investigation of sexual assault allegations against Garcia.

“These charges are serious and disturbing. The Archdiocese is cooperating fully with law enforcement regarding this matter and remains fervently committed to preventing child abuse as well as protecting the children and young people entrusted to its care,” said a statement provided by the archdiocese.

Local ABC affiliate WPVI Channel 6 interviewed parishioners from Immaculate Heart of Mary who expressed disgust at the allegations and said they felt the priest’s alleged abuse behavior had been hidden on purpose for years.

Last year, a grand jury determined that more than 1,000 people were sexual abuse victims of either a Catholic Church priest or leader among parishioners in the state of Pennsylvania. The grand jury read many years’ worth of church internal documents and listened to witness testimony to determine that more than 300 priests had allegedly committed Catholic priest sex abuse against children.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.