California priest pleads no contest in child pornography case

CNA Staff October 11, 2024 / 1:55 p.m

A priest in California has pleaded no contest to allegations that he possessed hundreds of images of child sexual abuse material. His conviction came just over a year after his arrest.

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release Thursday that Father Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara “pleaded no contest to a felony count of possession of child sexual abuse material.” He was associated with several churches including Our Lady of Guadalupe in Oxnard, California.

As part of that plea, the 39-year-old priest also admitted that he possessed “over 600 images of child sexual abuse material, including images and videos of prepubescent minors under the age of 12.”

Martinez-Guevara was arrested in September 2023. In announcing the priest’s plea this week, District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said Martinez-Guevara had “betrayed the law and the trust placed in him as a religious leader.”

“Child sexual abuse materials target the most vulnerable members of our society, and we will continue to ensure that anyone who commits such heinous crimes is held accountable, regardless of their position or title,” the prosecutor said.

The priest is a member of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. The religious group said in a statement following Martinez-Guevara’s request that his crimes “[do] does not reflect the values ​​of our community and we are deeply saddened by his actions.”

“Our thoughts are with all the victims who were injured and whose lives were damaged in this terrible way,” the institute said.

Martinez-Guevara’s “canonical process for loss of clerical status will move forward following the guilty plea,” the group said.

An investigation into Martinez-Guevara was launched in April 2023 following reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A task force from several law enforcement agencies was involved in the investigation.

The priest is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9 in Ventura County.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles told the media last year that Martinez-Guevara is “not a priest of…” [the archdiocese]“, but had “possessed the ability to serve” there. After his arrest, he was “removed from office by the archdiocese and his order,” the statement said.

“The Archdiocese opposes all sexual misconduct and is committed to supporting the victims and survivors of any misconduct,” the statement continued.

The Missionaries of the Holy Spirit currently have members in several dozen communities in several countries, but the majority are in Mexico. There are also priests from the group in Italy, Colombia and Spain.