Former SC Catholic priest pleads guilty to federal child sex crime

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - A former Catholic priest who worked in Laurens, South Carolina, pleaded guilty on Thursday morning to a federal child sex crime.

Jaime Adolfo Gonzalez-Farias, 68, pleaded guilty to transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity at the federal courthouse in Columbia.

Gonzalez-Farias was accused in federal court filings of abusing his position of power and building a relationship with an 11-year-old boy. He took the boy on a trip to Florida, where he molested the boy, according to Assistant United States Attorney Elliott Daniels.

In court on Thursday, Gonzalez-Farias itted that he intended to sexually abuse the 11-year-old boy when bringing him on a trip alone to Panama City Beach.

“When the victim returned, the victim’s family came forward, and said, ‘There’s something wrong about this relationship,’” Daniels said. “I think that speaks to the courage, particularly of the minor victim and their family. It’s difficult for victims of sex abuse to come forward and be honest about what happened.”

The priest itted to the Federal Bureau of Investigations that the child was abused in both Florida and South Carolina.

Gonzalez-Farias was also charged with aggravated sexual abuse of children and coercion of a minor, but those charges were dropped in a plea agreement.

Court filings show the priest had given the boy nicknames, showered with him, shared pornography with him and told the boy he loved him.

The priest itted to the child sex abuse in interviews with the FBI at the Miami airport before flying back to Columbia.

In the plea agreement, state prosecutors were advised to not bring any additional charges against Gonzalez-Farias.

Gonzalez-Farias will be sentenced to federal prison by U.S. Judge Mary Geiger Lewis in a few months. Daniels told WIS News 10 he is “looking forward” to sentencing.

The charge carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.

“When I think about a case like this, our office sees an abuse of power. What we see is someone who is in a position of trust, a position of influence, and he took advantage of that,” Daniels said.

“We will bring every resource we have to protect those victims and vindicate their rights,” Daniels added.

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