CLEVELAND — Luis Barajas will learn his fate when he’s sentenced at 10 a.m. on Feb. 27 after the 76-year-old man pleaded guilty to one count of gross sexual imposition connected to allegations involving a Westlake teen with cancer.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court confirmed his guilty plea with 3News on Wednesday morning, which comes as records show his trial was scheduled to start this week.
Barajas, of Elyria, was indicted on six counts of gross sexual imposition back on Nov. 9 as Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley announced allegations in the case.
“Luis Barajas is a predator who took advantage of a 15-year-old during a vulnerable time,” Prosecutor O’Malley said when the charges were announced last year. “This indictment is the first step in holding him accountable.”
O’Malley’s office said Barajas was “acting in the capacity of a retired priest” when he went to the victim’s residence in Westlake on Oct. 10 to give her a blessing before her chemotherapy treatment.
“During the blessing, Barajas inappropriately touched the victim under a blanket,” according to the prosecutor’s office. “This was then reported to the Westlake Police Department and they responded to the scene.”
Barajas was arrested on Oct. 23.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE OF THE CASE FROM 3NEWS...
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