Father Joseph Cervantez Briceno, the onetime pastor of St. Sheriff's deputies escorted the year-old priest aboard MCSO's fixed wing plane, which landed in Phoenix at about noon, Chagolla said. He's also been ordered to surrender his passport and, should he be bailed out, wear a Global Positioning System monitoring device so authorities can keep track of his whereabouts, FitzGerald said. Briceno has been returned to Arizona to face six counts of sexual conduct with a minor, one count of attempted sexual contact with a minor and one count of sexual abuse, according to a grand jury indictment handed down May 14, The charges stem from a number of alleged sexual encounters involving the priest and two underage teens, all of which reportedly occurred in and while Briceno was serving at St.
Mary's Church in Chandler, the indictment states. Several of the encounters reportedly occurred with a year-old boy in the rectory of St. Mary's, according to a case summary prepared by Lt. Although Diocese of Phoenix officials learned of the allegations before suspending Briceno in , the story didn't become public until 10 years later, after the Maricopa County Attorney's Office launched an investigation into sexual misconduct among diocesan priests.
Briceno was indicted the following year, but by then had fled to Mexico, where he's spent the past 13 years serving as an associate pastor at Cristo Rey Parish in San Luis, Sonora, according to the U. Marshals Office. Briceno, who over the years ignored pleas by Catholic Church officials to turn himself in, surprised law enforcement officials Dec.
Briceno is expected to be arraigned on his charges within 10 days of his arrival, FitzGerald said. William Church in He left seven years later to become pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Peoria, where he served for only one month before he was suspended by the Diocese of Phoenix. Reproduce freely with attribution.
