KENNEWICK — A Catholic priest who previously served in East Wenatchee has been accused of raping a woman last month in Kennewick.
Rev. Tomás Vázquez Téllez, 49, is alleged to have raped a woman in her 30s Aug. 19-20 at his home in Kennewick, according to a news release from the Diocese of Yakima.
He was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of third-degree rape with an aggravating factor of being a person of trust and is being held at the Benton County Jail.
Vázquez served at Holy Apostles in East Wenatchee from May 2007 to June 2008, said Monsignor Robert Siler, spokesman for the Yakima Diocese.
Vázquez in April 2020 resigned as pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Kennewick to begin a sabbatical to study Biblical languages, but had been serving at Pasco's St. Patrick Catholic Church, in the Diocese of Spokane, the news release said. He was preparing to leave for a three-month study program in Jerusalem.
The woman reported the alleged rape shortly after it occurred, the news release said.
During the investigation, Yakima Diocese Bishop Joseph J. Tyson ordered Vázquez to cease all public ministry, to remain in the country and have no contact with the woman, the release said.
"We are shocked and saddened by these developments," Tyson said. "I am grateful that the woman came forward immediately and trusted another of our priests well enough to confide in him and to bring this matter to light."
While the criminal case is active, Vázquez will receive salary and benefits from the diocese due to a "presumption of innocence," the news release said, but the diocese will not pay for his legal defenses.
