A federal indictment at the time accused him of “us[ing] a facility and means of interstate and foreign commerce” to “persuade, induce, entice, and coerce” an 11-year-old victim “to engage in sexual activity.”
Investigators reportedly recovered text messages and WhatsApp communications from the priest to the victim that were “consistent with the victim’s disclosures.”
The priest reportedly admitted to investigators that he “showered with the victim, that he touched the minor victim’s genitals, and that he showed the minor victim pornography.”
The Charleston Diocese had previously listed Gonzales-Farias as a priest with a credible allegation of child sexual abuse.
The diocese said in a statement earlier this year that it “was made aware of an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor involving visiting priest Father Jaime Gonzalez-Farias in December 2020, after he had left the country for his home in Chile.” Church officials reported the matter to the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office, which eventually informed the FBI of the crimes.
The priest had been subject to multiple background checks prior to the allegations, the diocese said earlier this year, with no indication of any criminal activity in his record.