Former Priest Admits To Sexually Abusing Children From Infancy To Age 13

BEL AIR, MD — A tip from a Walgreens employee led to the arrest of former Bel Air priest, who pleaded guilty this week to coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. He faces 10 to 25 years in prison, according to his plea agreement.

Fernando Cristancho, 65, of Bel Air, admitted to having sex with and photographing children from infancy to 13 years old, prosecutors said.

When Cristancho was in Walgreens in September 2017 to use photo equipment and asked for assistance, the employee helping him saw images of naked children on his phone, including one with a bite mark on a boy's buttocks, according to the agreement. The worker notified police, and a search warrant was executed at Cristancho's home on Hayden Way in Bel Air on Sept. 19, 2017.

Multiple devices seized in the search provided evidence that would have been presented at trial, including many pornographic images Cristancho produced when his victims were younger than 5 years old. However, on the first day of trial — Monday, Oct. 4 — Cristancho entered a guilty plea.

At least five children were victimized by Cristancho from infancy to age 13, his plea agreement states. Four of the victims were related to him.

According to his plea agreement, Cristancho befriended the family of “John Doe" — the victim who was not in his care — and he began asking for back rubs as he worked his way into the boy’s life, dining with his family, camping with them and having the child read in church services. This occurred from 2002 to 2003, and it began when Cristancho was a priest at St. Ignatius in Hickory, from 1999 to 2002. He continued to hold services in a parishioner's home, where John Doe served as a lector or altar server, according to court records.

In 2002, the Archdiocese of Baltimore revoked Cristancho's ability to minister in the archdiocese when he refused to relocate to another parish.

"Subsequent to the revocation of his faculties to function as a priest, the archdiocese learned that Cristancho had fathered triplets with a woman through in-vitro fertilization, and later that he was accused of child sexual abuse and found by a court to have sexually abused two of his children," according to the archdiocese. Catholic priests are not allowed to have children.

In fall 2001, Cristancho had three triplets, and he arranged for John Doe to come over to watch them. According to the plea agreement, while John Doe was over, the priest kissed him and acted as if they were in a romantic relationship, told him he loved him, showed the boy pornography and asked him to do things they saw on the videos. He had sex with the boy multiple times, the plea agreement said.

Cristancho also produced child pornography of four minors who were under his care, according to his plea agreement.

One was an infant when he took pornographic pictures of her; another was 2.5 years old and nearly 5 years old when he took pictures and videos of him; and two were 11 years old when the photos were taken, according to his plea agreement.

Cristancho's sentencing is set for 10 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 20, in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

He faces a minimum of five years and up to 30 years; but according to his plea agreement, he will be sentenced to 10 to 25 years in federal prison. Upon release, he must register as a sex offender.

See Also: Former Priest In Bel Air Faces Porn Charges

Read Cristancho's plea agreement: