Former Beckley priest charged with sexually assaulting minor

Josephine E. Moore, The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
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Jul. 30—The former priest of a Beckley Catholic church was arrested Wednesday on charges from Pennsylvania for an accusation of sexually assaulting a minor a decade ago.

Pericles "Perry" Pasamante Malacaman, 84, who served as a priest at St. Francis De Sales Parish in Beckley from 1999 to 2009, was charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16, corruption of minors and indecent assault of a person younger than 16 by the Pennsylvania State Police, according to a criminal docket posted online by the SNAP Network.

According to its website, SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest) is an independent, peer network of survivors of institutional sexual abuse and their supporters.

The complaint was filed Wednesday in Butler County, Pennsylvania, and lists the date of the offenses as May 16, 2012.

Malacaman was arrested in Raleigh County and booked into Southern Regional Jail at 5 p.m. Wednesday with no bond, according to the West Virginia Regional Jail website.

On Thursday, Mark E. Brennan, bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, confirmed the arrest with a letter posted to St. Francis's website.

In the letter, Brennan wrote, "The Diocese was not aware of the allegation until the day it was made public." He also stated, "Prior to his arrest, there were no sex abuse-related complaints on file for Fr. Malacaman."

Brennan said the Diocese will "cooperate fully with appropriate civil authorities as they investigate this matter." He added that they cannot comment on "pending criminal investigations" and have also not seen the criminal complaint.

Brennan also shared the following information regarding Malacaman's history as a priest.

"According to Diocesan records, Fr. Malacaman was ordained on December 16, 1972, in the Archdiocese of Davao, in Davao City, Philippines.

"Fr. Malacaman was assigned to St. John the Evangelist Parish in Mullens and Holy Cross Chapel in Pineville from June 23, 1993, through June 16, 1999; and St. Francis De Sales Parish in Beckley from June 16, 1999, through June 3, 2009.

"He has not been assigned in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston since then."

Brennan also wrote that, to the best of their knowledge, Malacaman was retired and living in a private residence in Beckley.