CENNTENIAL, Colo.—A Catholic priest has been removed from duty from a suburban Denver parish after a family accused him of “grooming” their teenage son for sexual assault.
A Douglas County judge issued a temporary protective order at the family’s request barring Father Paul Montez from contacting them. The judge left the order in place on Friday and scheduled another hearing in the case for May 7.
Montez’s attorney, Robert McGee, declined to comment on the allegations. He said at least eight witnesses were prepared to testify on Montez’s behalf.
No details of the case emerged at the hearing. Montez attended but did not speak. The family of the teenager left through a back door without comment.
Another priest at the same parish, St. Thomas More in Centennial, was removed from duty after allegations surfaced of sexual misconduct with a minor in the 1970s, the Archdiocese of Denver announced this month.
The priest, Father Mel Thompson, has denied the allegations. Denver police said they won’t investigate because the date of the accusation falls outside the statute of limitations.
In Montez’s case, Timothy and Teresa Boh were granted a temporary restraining order on April 2 alleging the priest bought their son clothing and a computer and took him out to eat more than 220 times.
The son was 17 at the time.
“Montez started grooming (our son), for what we believe would have resulted in sexual assault had Montez not been stopped,” the Bohs wrote in a complaint.
The Bohs claim that Montez invited their son to live at the parish’s youth center and told parishioners the Bohs were abusive.
Montez later arranged for the youth to live with an Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputy. Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson says he was unaware of the situation but it sounded as if the deputy was trying to help a boy in trouble.
The archdiocese released a statement saying Montez was removed after the archdiocese “received concerns” about his interactions with others and his teachings.
It said the concerns didn’t involve sexual contact and that an investigation did not uncover any sexual contact.
