An ordained Catholic priest was sentenced to probation and fined after pleading guilty to having sex with a woman in Minnesota while religiously advising her.
Jacob Andrew Bertrand, 35, was sentenced Monday on a criminal sexual conduct in the third-degree charge.
Bertrand and the woman met while they were both studying in Rome, Italy in 2009.
The criminal complaint filed in Minnesota claims Bertrand used religion to prey on the woman’s desire to find a husband, claiming he was the man she was sent to Rome to meet.
When the two flew to Minnesota later that year they stayed with the woman's family.
Bertrand accepted a plea agreement in January 2018, admitting to having sex with the woman while he was performing a private mass in her parent's basement.
Bertrand was accused of telling the woman that what happened between them was “so mystical,” no one should know about it. The woman claims Bertrand then sent her $1,000 to pay for school, according to the criminal complaint.
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In Monday's sentencing, Judge Karen Asphaug ordered Bertrand to serve probation for 10 years and pay a fine of $1,000. He must also undergo a sex offender assessment and counseling.
If he violates his probation, Bertrand could serve 4 years in prison.
The complaint says the woman reported the sexual acts to church officials in 2012; her claims were forwarded to the Diocese for investigation in 2014. She filed a police report in April 2016.
A spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego told NBC 7 in 2016 that there have been no allegations lodged against the priest in San Diego.
Bertrand served at the St. Rose Lima Parish in Chula Vista from 2010 to 2013 and at the Santa Sophia Parish in Spring Valley from 2013 to 2015.
