Saratoga News

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Sacred Heart priest is arrested on a rape charge in Sunnyvale

By Jason Sweeney

Father Randy Benas, a priest at Sacred Heart Parish in Saratoga, was arrested last week on a rape charge and booked into the Santa Clara County jail.

Sunnyvale Police Lt. Marty Dale said Benas was arrested at Sacred Heart at about 2:30 p.m. on March 30 following an interview with police investigators. "The charge is one count of felony rape," Dale said. "Bail has been set at $200,000."

Dale said Benas had been in contact with an Oregon woman for about a year. While traveling to San Diego, the woman stopped in Sunnyvale to meet Benas the night of March 27. Benas had rented a hotel room in Sunnyvale that night.

"The victim and the suspect entered the room and the rape took place soon after," Dale said. "Several hours later the suspect departed after advising the victim that he would return. The victim then left the hotel. Suffice it to say, she ended up at the sexual assault unit at Valley Medical Center. We were then contacted."

Dale would not comment on the woman's medical condition, but said no weapon had been used.

Investigators used pretext phone calls during the investigation, Dale said. A pretext phone call is an investigative technique where an alleged victim calls a suspect to discuss a crime without the suspect being aware that the call is being recorded.

"Soon after the pretext phone calls were completed, the decision was made to interview Father Benas," Dale said. "That interview took place at Sacred Heart Parish. At the conclusion of the interview, Father Benas was arrested."

Carolyn Orasin, a parish secretary at Sacred Heart Parish, said she has worked with Benas for the last three years. "I'm just really surprised. This is not something I would expect from him. He's just a very friendly, outgoing, nice guy. It's hard to hear something like this about someone you work with when you don't suspect they could be capable of something like that. But it's still alleged and he hasn't been convicted."

According to the Sacred Heart Parish website, Benas moved to the area in 1993 from his former diocese in the Philippines. He served at three other parishes in the Diocese of San Jose before becoming a parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in June 2003.