Priest Convicted of Molesting Altar Boys Accused in New Case

A priest who was convicted of molesting four altar boys at his Huntington Beach church several years ago has been arrested in New Mexico on suspicion of child molestation, authorities said Wednesday.

Andrew Christian Andersen was arrested in Albuquerque, N.M., on suspicion of child molestation, assault and kidnaping, police said. Albuquerque Police Sgt. John Sanchez said Andersen allegedly forced a teen-age boy into his vehicle, assaulted him and attempted to sodomize him.

Andersen, 37, has been released on $15,000 bail and the complaint has been referred to the district attorney’s office for prosecution, Sanchez said. He was arrested March 12.

While a priest at St. Bonaventure Church in Huntington Beach, Anderson was convicted in November, 1986, on 26 counts of child molestation. He received a suspended six-year jail sentence and was placed on five years’ probation.

Andersen’s attorney in the Huntington Beach case, William M. Monroe, said Wednesday that Anderson was suspended of “all priestly functions” after his 1986 conviction. Monroe said Andersen had completed his therapy and was working in an administrative job at a university in New Mexico.

“He seemed happy, content, and fulfilled doing whatever he was doing out there,” said Monroe, adding that he keeps in regular contact with Andersen. “I think this (new report of child molestation) is a bogus beef. It’s hard for me to believe it.”

Albuquerque investigators have sought assistance in their investigation from Huntington Beach police and the Orange County district attorney’s office. Neither agency would discuss details of the investigation.

“They have charges in New Mexico and we have a potential probation violation here,” said Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael C. Koski, who prosecuted Andersen here. “It remains to be determined where he will be dealt with first.”

If Andersen is found to be in violation of his probation, he would face at least six years in prison, Koski said.

During sentencing, Orange County Superior Court Judge Luis A. Cardenas warned Andersen that he would have to serve his six-year sentence if he violated his probation or if he failed to complete a rehabilitation program at the Martin Villa Foundation House in Jemez Springs, N.M. The house is run by a Catholic order called Servants of the Paracletes.

As a condition of probation, Cardenas also ordered the priest to stay away from anyone under 18 unless another adult was present.

Andersen, who had been a priest at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church since 1982, was charged in April, 1985, with fondling four altar boys on 24 separate occasions between February, 1985, and March, 1986.

Police launched an investigation after the mother of a 13-year-old boy had reported that her son, an altar boy, was being sexually molested by Andersen. Three additional victims surfaced during the investigation.

Andersen molested the boys--three of whom were 12 years old and another who was 13--in his living quarters, the church rectory and in a borrowed motor home. None of the 26 counts involved more than fondling.

Andersen’s trial and conviction divided church members in Huntington Beach. Some parishioners refused to believe their priest had committed such acts while others wanted him out of their parish.

Several sympathetic parishioners sent letters to Judge Cardenas before the sentencing hearing. The letters, however, did not sway Cardenas. “Many of you still refuse to believe that Father Andersen is responsible for these crimes. . . . Let me assure you that he is. . . . Father Andersen has admitted to his guilt,” Cardenas said.