NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A former Catholic deacon from Queens pleaded guilty on Friday to trying to lure three underage boys into meeting him for sex, according to the Department of Justice.
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From 2015 to 2021, Rogelio Vega, a 52-year-old who worked as a deacon at Saint Sebastian Roman Catholic Church in Woodside, used the children’s messaging app Kik and the gay dating app Grindr to attempt to coerce three boys between the ages of 14 and 16 to meet with him for sex acts in his car and at motels.
Vega was arrested in Jan. 2021 in a sting operation in which he arranged to meet an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old boy for sex.
He was sentenced to 10 years probation and registry as a sex offender after pleading guilty in October 2021.
The deacon was again arrested on federal charges the same day he pleaded guilty in Queens Criminal Court after police seized Vega’s phone and found incriminating messages dating back to 2015.
“The defendant’s use of the internet, including apps targeted to children, to sexually exploit minors is reprehensible,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “Protecting children from online predators will always be a priority of this office.”
Vega faces a maximum sentence of life in prison when he’s sentenced in January.
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