Bond set at $1m for extradited priestBond set at $1m for extradited priest

BY A STAFF WRITER
MINNEAPOLIS (MN) — A judge has set bond at $1 million cash for a Roman Catholic priest extradited from his native India on accusations of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Minnesota.

The Rev. Joseph Jeyapaul was arraigned on criminal sexual conduct charges in Roseau County District Court on November 19. Prosecutors also charged the 59-year-old priest with assaulting a second victim.

Prosecutors say he raped a girl multiple times in 2004 and 2005, starting when she was 14. Jeyapaul has denied the allegations.

The priest came to Minnesota in 2004 and served at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Greenbush at the time of the alleged abuse.
He returned to India in 2005 and while he was overseas, the Diocese of Crookston received allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old girl