He was extradited from California
By Paris Achen, Columbian courts reporter
Published: April 25, 2014, 10:37 AM
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Patrick T. Michael, 57, of Vancouver appears April 25, 2014, in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of luring a 14-year-old girl.
A Catholic priest appeared Friday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of trying to lure a 14-year-old girl into his car as she was walking home from school through Vancouver’s Image neighborhood.
Michael T. Patrick, 57, of Vancouver was arrested April 2 on a warrant at Los Angeles International Airport when he re-entered the United States after a trip to Australia. He was then extradited to Clark County.
Judge Robert Lewis released Patrick on Friday and ordered him to check into the Clark County Jail’s supervised release program.
Patrick is scheduled to be arraigned May 6 on one charge of felony luring.
He is the pastor of the St. Wenceslaus Parish in Scappoose, Oregon, but keeps a residence in Vancouver. His home is in the Image neighborhood, according to Clark County property records. He has no criminal history.
He appeared Friday with Vancouver attorney Tom Phelan, who said he was making a courtesy appearance. Patrick will need to retain an attorney because he doesn’t qualify for court-appointed counsel.
The teen was walking west on Northeast 28th Street near 138th Avenue on March 10 when she noticed a man looking at her “strangely” from inside a blue 2007 Honda Pilot that was traveling east on 28th Street, according to a court affidavit.
Shortly afterward, she said, she noticed the vehicle pass her again, but this time it was headed west on the street, Vancouver police Detective Jason Hafer wrote in the affidavit. The vehicle pulled over in the bike lane, and the driver opened the window and told her to get inside, Hafer wrote.
“No,” the girl replied, according to the affidavit. She said she then began walking faster. The man drove alongside her, asking her several more times if she wanted a ride, and she declined each time, Hafer wrote. He allegedly continued to follow her as she turned north on Northeast 132nd Avenue.
At one point, he said, “Come on, cutie,” according to the affidavit. The girl was alarmed and ran to an in-home day care center on the east side of the street, where she called her mother for advice, Hafer wrote.
Her mother said the girl was crying and sounded frightened. She also was breathing heavily as if she had been running. The girl waited at the residence until the man drove away, then ran home, according to court records.
Vancouver police located Patrick the same day, based on his license plate number. Patrick denied the accusations, court records say. Police then brought the girl to the front of Patrick’s residence, and she identified him as the man who had attempted to lure her, according to the court records. She said he was still in the clothes he had worn earlier when he allegedly spoke to her. Officers obtained a warrant to search Patrick’s residence and served it when he was not present, according to court records. It’s unclear if he had already left for his trip to Australia.
Under Washington law, it is a Class C felony for a stranger to attempt to lure anyone younger than 16 into any area out of public view or into a motor vehicle without the consent of the minor’s parent, unless the defendant proves his actions were reasonable under the circumstances and he did not intend to harm the health, safety or welfare of the minor.
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Scappoose priest accused of attempting to lure 14-year-old girl into his car on Vancouver street
Oregon Live The Oregonian
By
A Catholic priest and pastor at St. Wenceslaus Church in Scappoose is accused of attempting to lure a 14-year-old girl into his car last month on a Vancouver street.
Father Michael T. Patrick, 57, is being held in the Los Angeles County Jail after being arrested as he returned from a trip to Australia. He’s being detained on a Clark County arrest warrant.
The alleged incident occurred on a Northeast Vancouver street at around 5:30 on March 10. The girl told police she was walking west on Northeast 28th Street when the driver of a silver or blue car looked at her “strangely,” according to a probable cause affidavit.
According the affidavit, the driver turned around and then came up behind the girl, passed her and then stopped the car in the bike lane. As the girl approached the car, the driver, she told detectives with the Vancouver Police Department, opened the driver’s side door and said “Hey, get in.”
She told the man, “No,” and then continued walking toward her home at a faster pace. The driver then drove alongside the girl, “asking her several times if she wanted a ride,” according to court documents. Each time, she said responded “No.”
At one point, the girl told police, the man said “Come on, cutie.”
That’s when the girl ran to a nearby in-home daycare center where she called her mother to ask for help. She waited until the car pulled away and then ran home, where her mother called police.
The girl described the man as middle-aged who appeared to be of “middle Eastern” descent. He was heavy-set with with jowls, sideburns and chin hair, she said. She told police the man was wearing silver, wire-rimmed glasses and a collared blue jean shirt.
She also remembered the car’s license number.
An officer went to the car owner’s registered address when he contacted Patrick, who denied making contact with the girl.
A short time later, police brought the girl to Patrick’s house to potentially identify him as a suspect. When asked if he was the man who talked to her on the street, on a scale of 1 to 10, she said “eleven.”
On March 25, officers went to Patrick’s house to serve a search warrant, but he was out of the country; a neighbor told police he had gone to Australia to visit his sister. Police entered the home through a sliding glass door, and seized a collared blue jean shirt as evidence.
According to court documents, Patrick faces one count of luring.
The Catholic Sentinel reported that Patrick has been with the Archdiocese of Portland since 1998. The Archdiocese could not be immediately reached for comment.
— Stuart Tomlinson
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Archdiocese of Portland Oregon website
April 10, 2014
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information, Contact:
Bud Bunce 503-233-8373
Statement on Father Michael Patrick
The Archdiocese is just learning about the criminal matter pending in Vancouver against Fr. Michael Patrick. We now know that that Father was detained on an outstanding warrant when he arrived in Los Angeles Tuesday morning upon return from Australia. He is presently in jail in Los Angeles. The Archdiocese had no prior knowledge of the pending charge, and is trying to get in contact with Fr. Patrick. To date we have been unsuccessful.
The Archdiocese will cooperate with law enforcement. Father Patrick will be suspended from his ministry functions until the matter is concluded, even though the criminal charge had nothing to do with his parish assignment in Scappoose, Oregon.
We continue to gather information on this matter. Ultimately, we must trust in the justice system. We ask all to join us in prayer for justice.
“The Archdiocese will cooperate with law enforcement. Father Patrick will be suspended from his ministry functions until the matter is concluded, even though the criminal charge had nothing to do with his parish assignment in Scappoose, Oregon.”
“…even though the criminal charge had nothing to do with his parish assignment in Scappoose, Oregon”?
What pray tell does that have to do with suspending a priest who is facing charges of luring? What difference does it make where the charge was laid or where the “alleged” offence transpired?
What a foolish statement!