Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun
Benito Catello’s attorney Mace J. Yampolsky appears Wednesday before District Court Judge William D. Jansen. Catello, who was too ill to appear, is charged with 29 felony counts which include sexual assault, sexual assault with a victim under 14 years of age and lewdness with a minor under 14 years of age.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 | 9:09 a.m.
Benito Catello
Sun Archives
A 76-year-old man who claims to be a prophet and faces multiple counts of sexual assault on minors was scheduled to have bypass surgery Tuesday, his attorney said this morning.
Attorney Mace Yampolsky said today that his client, Benito Catello, remains in custody at a local hospital with guards by his bed.
Yampolsky would not say which hospital Catello was to have surgery at but said he had been using an oxygen tank and pain mediation.
"He's quite ill," Yampolsky said.
Catello has been charged with 27 counts of sexual assault with a victim under 14 and two counts of lewdness with a minor under 14.
The District Attorney's Office dropped an additional open and gross lewdness charge that had been filed while he was in custody.
Catello was arrested July 3 after two teenage girls told police that they had had sex with him in his home in the northeast part of the valley.
Catello led a non-denominational Christian church called The Ministry from his home. Meetings mainly consisted of Bible study, Yampolsky said.
Members, called "sheep," referred to Catello as "papa," according to police reports.
"He said he has healed some of his subjects," Yampolsky said.
A preliminary hearing for the 29 felony charges is scheduled for Aug. 7.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy