Police Issue Arrest Warrant for Dallas Priest Accused of Molesting Three Boys More Than a Decade Ago

Dallas police have issued an arrest warrant for an Oak Cliff priest accused of molesting three teenage boys more than a decade ago and stealing from his parish.Edmundo Paredes, 70, has fled the Dallas area and his whereabouts are unknown. Dallas Catholic Diocese officials have said they thought he may have returned to his native Philippines.Dallas County Sheriff's spokesman Raul Reyna confirmed "there is currently an active arrest warrant" for Paredes that was issued to Dallas police Jan. 10. A police spokeswoman said police declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.Allegations against Paredes, the former longtime pastor at St. Cecilia Catholic Church, became public in August. Afterward, the Dallas Police Department’s Child Exploitation Unit assigned Detective David Clark to investigate sex-abuse allegations with minors within the Catholic diocese.The Paredes case -- as well as the Catholic Church’s latest flare-up in its worldwide clergy sexual abuse crisis -- prompted the Dallas diocese to hold four town hall meetings meetings in October. One of the meetings was at St. Cecilia’s, where about 200 people showed up to hear Dallas Bishop Edward J. Burns speak. The next day, Burns announced that all Texas Catholic dioceses planned to release, by the end of January, the names of all clergy members “credibly accused” of sexual abuse of minors since 1950.  Continue reading...