DEFOREST (WKOW) — Dane County Jail records show a pastoral associate from a DeForest Catholic church was arrested Thursday.
Rajnal Rehmat is facing the following three tentative charges:
- Sexual exploitation of a child
- Sexual assault of a student by staff
- Child enticement
DeForest Police arrested him.
According to an online staff directory, Brother (Br.) Rajnal Rehmat was a pastoral associate at St. Olaf Catholic Church. His staff entry in the directory was present Thursday night but deleted by Friday morning.
Br. Rajnal Rehmat was listed on St. Olaf's staff directory as of Thursday evening. His entry has since been removed.
27 News obtained an email St. Olaf sent to parishioners Friday morning. It reads as follows:
"I'm sickened and distressed to have to share the following statement from the Diocese of Madison regarding the arrest of Br. Rajnal Rehmat, CJD, involving sexual misconduct with a minor. The the [sic] parish and the diocese will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as the judicial process plays out. While we all uphold the presumption of innocence inherent to our legal system, I also want to address the hurt and distrust that this news will bring to our parish community."
The church will have a prayer service Friday at 7 p.m. for all those affected.
The Diocese of Madison sent a statement, acknowledging staff became aware of the allegations on November 27. The Diocese reported Br. Rajnal Rehmat came to the Diocese of Madison in June 2022 to work as a religious brother.
"The Diocese immediately notified law enforcement, placed Br. Rehmat on administrative leave, and informed Br. Rehmat’s religious superiors. The Diocese cooperated proactively with law enforcement leading to Br. Rehmat’s arrest involving sexual misconduct with a minor on Thursday, December 1st.
The Diocese of Madison has no further information at this time in due respect for the ongoing law enforcement investigation and the judicial process. The Diocese of Madison will continue to cooperate fully with civil authorities investigating these allegations, and we pray for all affected by these events."
Rehmat is not officially charged and does not have a court date set.
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