Group Urges Removal of Priest in Santa Ana

An advocacy group for victims of abuse by priests called Monday for the removal of a Catholic priest in Santa Ana who was linked to child pornography by police investigators but never prosecuted.

Standing in front of St. Joseph’s Church, where Father Cesar Salazar serves as a parish priest, three members of SNAP -- the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests -- asked Bishop Tod D. Brown to remove him while the Diocese of Orange conducts an investigation.

In 2001, a church employee found child pornography on a laptop computer formerly owned by Salazar and reported it to diocesan officials. Santa Ana police were notified, and after an investigation detectives recommended that Salazar be prosecuted.

However, the Orange County district attorney’s office declined to file charges. Prosecutors said it would be difficult to prove who was responsible for the pornography because the computer had been owned by at least one other person after Salazar got rid of it.

The church employee who found the pornography has said he hoped church officials would have removed Salazar by now, but the diocesan Sexual Misconduct Oversight and Review Board is still looking into the case. The man, who is no longer a diocesan employee, reported the priest to the FBI this month. He has said FBI officials promised to investigate, but an agency spokeswoman declined to say whether an investigation has been started.

SNAP spokeswoman Mary Grant said the group wants Brown to remove Salazar while the diocesan investigation continues. Parishioners were told Sunday that Brown has restricted Salazar’s ministry to adults. Also on Sunday, Salazar apologized in a prepared statement but did not admit to possessing child pornography. He also said he is not a threat to children.