Priest ordered to stand trial on lewd act charges in Fullerton

Calif. (AP) -- A Roman Catholic priest has been ordered to stand trial on charges of committing lewd acts against a 15-year-old girl.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard King ruled Wednesday there was enough evidence against the Rev. Gerardo Jarencio Tanilong, 72, for the case to go to trial. Tanilong remains free on $50,000 bail, said Deputy District Attorney Sheila Hanson.

"So much for the often promoted idea that the Church's problems will all go away if they weed out homosexuals." Yup. Stories about church leaders fooling with young people are amazingly common. Few churches don't have some incident in their history, and by that I mean individual congregations, not denominatons. The Presbyterian church I attended as a youth had such a case, where a youth minister was caught in flagrante delicto with a 15 year old girl. He was sacked of course, but if you look his name up, he shows up as the pastor of a non-denominational church. It's not a matter of gay or straight. It's a matter of people put in a position of trust with young people not having the right mindset. Happens all the time, and in all denominations.

It's a matter of people put in a position of trust with young people not having the right mindset.

I don't mean to sound like Captain Obvious, but pedophiles like to be in positions where they have a lot of access to kids. That's why you have lots of them as ministers, teachers, day care workers, foster care parents etc and practically none of them as advanced particle physists. All these professions need to have tough standards to screen out as many of these bastards as possible.

"I don't mean to sound like Captain Obvious, but pedophiles like to be in positions where they have a lot of access to kids. That's why you have lots of them as ministers, teachers, day care workers, foster care parents etc and practically none of them as advanced particle physists. All these professions need to have tough standards to screen out as many of these bastards as possible."

Tough nut, that one. The guy who was caught in that church I grew up in was 23 years old, and a recent graduate from the seminary. The girl was 15. He wasn't really a pedophile; just someone after a girl to young for him. How would you screen him out beforehand?

Same thing with the high school teachers who mess with their students. It's a little closer in age than pedophiles approach.

The big problem is that proximity, especially with adolescents, tends to lead to such situations. I don't think there's a way to screen that out.

I think the answer is the one that Billy Graham always followed. He never allowed himself to be alone with anyone of the opposite sex...always had someone there with him. That was for appearances only, of course, since Graham was not a lecher.

But his example is a good one. By making certain that people who work with kids and teens are never in a one-on-one situation, without anyone else around, we can go a long way toward limiting these incidents.

Yea, you're right: no system can eliminate everybody, and if a pedophile is clever enough he's going to get by the screening. I do get annoyed when people blame foster care or religion for these incidents when studies show molesters deliberately seek out these positions.

I do like your solution, it's practical and effective, and frankly it works for pedophiles as well as those who like teenagers. If you aren't alone with kids it's tough to do anything awful.

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