A 75-year-old religious leader has been charged with nine counts of aggravated sexual battery after a child said the man assaulted him, Fairfax County police said.
Police said Wednesday that they arrested Antonio Perez-Alcala on Monday while serving a search warrant at his McLean, Va., home, where he operated an organization called Secular Institute Stabat Mater.
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On Oct. 28, police were notified after a child told an adult that he was sexually assaulted by a leader of Secular Institute Stabat Mater, officials said. Police said Perez-Alcala often held private mentoring sessions with juveniles in his bedroom. The juvenile was allegedly sexually assaulted during the private sessions, police said. Police said another victim was identified during an investigation.
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Perez-Alcala has held different positions throughout the Northern Virginia area since the mid-1990s in which he came in contact with youths, police said. He worked and volunteered with the Catholic Diocese of Arlington in a non-ordained capacity from 1994 to 2008, according to police. Police are working with the diocese to determine whether there are more possible victims.
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In a news release, the Catholic Diocese of Arlington described the Secular Institute Stabat Mater as “a non-diocesan Catholic entity that serves the Hispanic community throughout the Diocese.” The release said that Perez-Alcala has served in a volunteer capacity at Good Shepherd Parish, All Saints Parish and St. Veronica Parish, and he retired in 2008 as the diocese’s director of Hispanic youth ministry.
The diocese said that this is the first time that it has been made aware of allegations or complaints against Perez-Alcala of sexual assault and that he had undergone criminal background checks.
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Perez-Alcala is being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. No online court records could be located for him, and it could not be determined whether he had an attorney. Relatives for Perez-Alcala could not be reached.
Police ask anyone who has information or suspects that Perez-Alcala had inappropriate contact with a child to call the county’s Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800.
Justin Jouvenal contributed to this report.