‘Retired priest’ accused of molesting 15-year-old with cancer at Ohio home, cops say

A 76-year-old “retired priest” is accused of molesting a teenager with cancer at an Ohio home, police told news outlets.

Luis Jesus Barajas, a Colombian national, had been staying with families in Lorain County for several months, and when the teen’s family heard about the “retired priest,” they reached out for his help, the Westlake Police Department said in Oct. 24 news release.

Barajas had been carrying out spiritual ceremonies by visiting families in the area, WOIO reported.

Barajas was driven to a home in Westlake to bless the 15-year-old girl, who is going through chemotherapy, Cleveland.com reported.

But as Barajas carried out the blessing, witnesses told investigators his “movements were ‘unconventional’ compared to past blessings they had seen,” police said.

He tried to hide what he was doing using blankets and clothing, police said, but witnesses saw enough to know it was inappropriate, adding that “his touching made several uncomfortable.”

Following the blessing, a witness learned Barajas had been accused of sexually assaulting children in the past, and they called Westlake police on Oct. 20, the department said.

Police launched an investigation and Barajas was arrested at an Elyria home on Oct. 23 on a charge of gross sexual imposition, according to the release.

“Investigators learned that Mr. Barajas had supposedly been ordained a Catholic Priest in 1982,” police said, but he was sent back to Colombia in 1989 after “he had been accused of sexual misconduct” with children in the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Westlake is a suburb of Cleveland, roughly 15 miles west of the city’s downtown.

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