CNA Staff, Jul 15, 2025 / 13:23 pm (CNA).
A priest in the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, will serve seven years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of sex abuse.
Father Juan Carlos Garcia-Mendoza was indicted last year on several counts of sexual battery and other crimes, some of which involved children and some adults. The priest was charged with eight crimes in February 2024 and two more in June of that year.
The Diocese of Nashville said in the Nashville Catholic this week that Garcia had pleaded guilty to the February charges. Those crimes include “continuous sexual abuse of a child,” aggravated sexual battery, and “sexual battery by an authority figure.”
In addition to the prison sentence, the priest will be listed in the state sex offender registry.
The diocese also indicated that he would be removed from the priesthood. Garcia “agreed not to contest laicization from the priesthood,” the statement said.
The Nashville Diocese said last year that it first learned of accusations against Garcia in November 2023 when “a teen in the parish had made a report of improper touching” involving the priest.
The diocese made a report to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services; it also contracted with a former FBI agent to oversee the diocesan investigation into the claims.
The Vatican, meanwhile, was “informed and involved from the outset of this matter, directing the appropriate canonical processes,” the diocese said this week.
The Franklin Police Department on Monday confirmed the report of the guilty plea via a post on X.
“Thanks to our detectives and the District AG’s Office for their hard work on this case,” the police department said.
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