Yakima Diocese Removes Priest From Ministry After Allegations Of Abuse

The Yakima Diocese has removed from all public ministry a priest in Granger after an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was determined to be credible. Father Robert Siler says 51-year-old Rev. Gustavo Gomez Santos, Pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Granger was placed on leave May 5 after allegations were brought by a man from Mattawa. "We put him on a leave of absence once we had some credible information to investigate. And once our investigation was completed we took a more definite action of permanently removing him."
The allegations were made by a 21-year-old man who reported he'd been sexually abused by Gomez Santos five to six years earlier. An investigation was started and the allegations were confirmed. But the allegations couldn't be prosecuted due to the statue of limitations. Santos' removal was announced at parishes in the lower valley on Sunday.