The Spokesman-Review reported that Father Miguel Mejia has been accused of “seeking sex from ‘vulnerable’ women in exchange for money or other items, using parish funds to pay for sexual activities with women, stalking a woman at least once and using his power and status as a priest to harm them.”
Six women have brought allegations of sexual misconduct against Fr. Mejia. According to The Spokesman-Review, some are parishioners at his parish, Our Lady of Fatima, some are not, and one is reportedly in prison.
The first claims were made in March, when two of the women called the diocese’s Victim Assistance Ministry Office. Parishioners and diocesan priests were told about the allegations during a meeting in June.
Originally from Mexico, Fr. Mejia studied in the U.S. and was ordained in the Diocese of Spokane in 2000. In addition to serving at Our Lady of Fatima, he ministered to those in prison.
At the Diocesan Review Board’s recommendation, Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly appointed a retired police detective to investigate Fr. Mejia. The Spokesman-Review reported that the detective suspected that Fr. Mejia misused church funds to pay the women and requested a financial audit.
An accounting firm found “various control weaknesses” in the church’s financial operations. Fr. Mejia reportedly has denied the allegations of his misuse of the church’s money.
If the police department’s investigation results in criminal charges against Fr. Mejia, the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office will continue the case. The diocese’s vicar general, Father Darrin Connall, reportedly told The Spokesman-Review that even if police say Fr. Mejia did not commit crimes, the case will likely be submitted to the Vatican for further action.
The outlet reported that both Bishop Daly and the Diocesan Review Board say that the allegations against Fr. Mejia are credible. Fr. Connall has offered his support to the women making the accusations.
“To come forward with this … it took a lot of guts on their part,” Fr. Connall told The Spokesman-Review. “I think it’s shameful to question their authenticity or their character.”
However, a small group of six parishioners, including the parish bookkeeper, Heather O’Keefe, is skeptical of the claims. O’Keefe has known Fr. Mejia for 10 years and said that her pastor was “totally transparent” with his expenses.
One parishioner, Steve Blewett, said that he and the others want to “get to the truth of these allegations.”
“If the women’s accounts are valid, they deserve to be treated with respect and get justice,” Blewett told The Spokesman-Review. “And Father Miguel also deserves to be treated with respect and the normal procedures of an investigation.”
Blewett also said that he is wary of the way Bishop Daly presented the case during the June meeting.
“He [Blewett] believes the issues were presented in a way to make them look incriminating, but they would look ‘absolutely normal’ in a different context,” The Spokesman-Review reported, later adding, “Some parishioners’ disdain for Daly’s more traditional tendencies has eroded their trust in him to oversee the investigation into Mejia.”
According to the outlet, the diocese is taking the claims seriously after facing the aftermath of the clergy sex abuse scandal, which resulted in the diocese paying $48 million to sex abuse survivors two decades ago.