Trump DOJ targets citizenship of former Turlock priest guilty of child molestation

A former Catholic priest who sexually molested a teenage boy in Turlock is among those the Trump administration is moving to denaturalize. During his citizenship application, the priest lied about his crimes.

Oscar Alberto Pelaez, now 75, was a Colombian Roman Catholic priest who sexually abused the juvenile from 1998 to 2000 while at Sacred Heart Church in Turlock.

In 2002, Pelaez pleaded guilty and was convicted of 13 counts of sexual assault against a child, including two counts of oral copulation with a person under 18 and two counts of sodomy of a person under 18. He served three years of a six-year sentence and registered as a sex offender.

According to the federal complaint, Pelaez allegedly denied having committed any crimes during his citizenship application and was granted U.S. citizenship in May 2001.

On Friday, the Department of Justice announced that it brought four claims against Pelaez, stating that he “lacked the good moral character to become a U.S. citizen and that he knowingly lied to immigration authorities.”

Citizenship may be revoked, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, if the naturalization was acquired illegally, by concealing a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.

“Had he disclosed his criminal conduct, he would have been ineligible to naturalize,” reads the federal complaint.

The administration filed denaturalization actions in various U.S. district courts against 11 other immigrants accused of serious offenses as well. They include a Nigerian man who allegedly used fake names to acquire legal status and citizenship and a man accused of killing two officers in Iraq.

“Individuals implicated in committing fraud, heinous crimes such as sexual abuse, or expressing support for terrorism should never have been naturalized as United States citizens,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a press release. “The Trump administration is taking action to correct these egregious violations of our immigration system. Those who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law.”

After being ordained in Colombia, Pelaez served in Stanislaus County parishes between 1992 and 2000, including St. Anthony’s in Hughson, Sacred Heart in Turlock and Our Lady of Fatima in Modesto.

According to court records, the molestation started when the victim was 14 and continued until he was 17. The crimes occurred at the Turlock church, at a youth camp, at a Turlock home and during trips to San Francisco, the records said.

Pelaez gave the boy alcohol, showed him pornography and encouraged him to skip school, so the two could take trips, records showed. The victim received $1 million under a 2002 settlement with the diocese, half paid by the diocese and half by its insurance company.

This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Trump DOJ targets citizenship of former Turlock priest guilty of child molestation."