Texas Catholic priest molested girl at El Paso church during confession, police say

June 20--A former El Paso priest arrested last week allegedly sexually abused an altar server for years, starting by molesting the girl during confession, court documents state.

El Paso police detectives arrested Miguel Luna, 68, on June 11 on a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Luna's arrest stems from an investigation by the Crimes Against Children Unit that began in October when the-now 36-year-old woman came forward and notified police.

The alleged sexual abuse began when the woman was an 8-year-old altar server and continued from 1991 to 1998, according to a complaint document filed by a detective.

The woman told detectives that she met Luna when she was an altar server at a Catholic church in El Paso, the document states. The church was not named in the document.

The woman told investigators that the abuse began with Luna "kissing her passionately" during confession when she was 8, according to the complaint.

"The victim recalled the defendant (Luna) telling her 'remember this is confession, so whatever happens here stays in here,' " the complaint states.

The Catholic rite of confession is considered private between the priest and the penitent.

Luna allegedly continued molesting the girl as she grew older and allegedly began raping her starting when she was 12 years old, the complaint states.

The complaint alleges the sexual assaults continued until the girl was 17 years old.

Detectives in the document noted that Luna had a close relationship with the girl's family and that he would pick her up from home and school during the years she was allegedly abused.

An El Paso police investigation continues and detectives ask that anyone who was a victim or knows of a victim to come forward. Anyone with information on Luna may call the Crimes Against Children Unit at 212-0382.

Luna remains held on a $50,000 bond at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown.

In August, the El Paso Catholic Diocese had a news conference disclosing that Luna had allegedly admitted to "sexual misconduct" with a girl in the 1980s.

El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz said at the news conference that a diocese investigation began in late 2016 when the girl, who is now an adult, came forward.

It is not clear if the woman in the police case is the same person in the investigation by the diocese.

El Paso Catholic Diocese spokeswoman Nancy Ramos on Tuesday said that she could not comment on the Luna case.

Last summer, the diocese was in the formal process of removing Luna from the clergy. It was unclear when he was formally removed from the priesthood.

Luna had been removed from the ministry since 2013 after an inquiry by the Diocesan Review Board into other sexual harassment allegations against him.

Luna was ordained in 1982 and worked in several churches in El Paso, including St. Pius X, Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of Assumption.

The diocese said that Luna also served in churches in the West Texas towns of Kermit, Alpine, Fort Davis and Marathon.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at 546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.

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