NY: Queens Bishop Confesses To Sexual Abuse Of 12yr Old Boy

WhatsApp
Facebook
Twitter
Telegram
LinkedIn
Print

The spiritual leader of a Queens church was busted for sexually abusing a pre-teen parishioner across nearly three years, with the accused predator confessing his sins to the victim in a recorded confrontation, officials charged Friday.

Read Also: US Resumes Talks With Taliban In Doha

A four-page criminal complaint described the victim meeting with Bishop Jesse Milagrosa on Oct. 28, 2018 to discuss the childhood abuse and record the creepy cleric’s admission to the alleged crimes.

“That was my mistake,” the bishop told the victim, according to the complaint. “If you want to report this, I’ll pay the consequences. I know I’m going to prison, I know it will be for a long time, and that’s it.”

Milagrosa, the longtime head of Our Lady of La Salette Church in Bayside, was ordered held on $250,000 bail after his Queens Criminal Court arraignment Thursday night on 11 felony counts for his long-running sexual targeting of the 12-year-old church member, authorities said.

The charges include predatory sexual assault against a child and criminal sexual acts.

The victim later turned over the damning recording to NYPD detectives. Prosecutors said the 69-year-old bishop, speaking in Spanish, also confessed to police that he had oral and anal contact with the underage victim from 2011 to 2014.

“The defendant is accused of using his position as head of the church to take advantage of an innocent child for his own sexual gratification,” said acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan.

The youth was an active member of the parish and spent much of his free time outside of school with Milagrosa before the religious figure began assaulting the boy in May 2011, officials said.

Though nominally a Catholic parish, Our Lady of La Salette Church is unaffiliated with the Brooklyn Archdiocese. The church was built in 2000 and operates outside the auspices of the Vatican.

“Bishop Milagrosa is beloved by his congregation,” said his attorney Jeffrey Pittell. “We deny these accusations and urge everyone to avoid rushing to judgement, and instead wait for the outcome of the judicial process.”

If convicted, Milagrosa faces 10 years to life behind bars, authorities said. He is due back in court on Dec. 20.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

WhatsApp
Facebook
Twitter
Telegram
LinkedIn
Print