Portland music minister arrested in undercover child predator sting

An Oregon parish music minister has been arrested as part of an undercover child predator sting, according to the Washington County Sheriff's office.

Sean Baba, the director of music ministry at St. Pius X Parish in Portland, was one of six men taken into custody April 13 by the sheriff's office. Investigators posed as underage boys and girls on a number of online dating platforms and social media sites. The suspects contacted the profiles and offered to meet in person for sex. Authorities arrested the men upon arrival.

Baba, 29, was the oldest of those arrested, with the other suspects ranging in age from 19 to 27. All were charged with the felony crimes of luring a minor and online sexual corruption of a child in the first degree.

In an April 13 press release, the sheriff's office stated that St. Pius X Parish and its school "were notified of his arrest and have fully cooperated with the investigation."

Detective Mark Povolny of the Washington County Sheriff's Office told OSV News that after an April 14 arraignment Baba was released, following a July 2022 Oregon bail reform law that permits pretrial conditional release of nonviolent offenders.

Baba is set for a pretrial hearing on April 21 and has a court-appointed attorney through Metropolitan Public Defenders, Povolny said.

In a statement, the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon said it was "shocked and saddened" to learn of Baba's arrest.

"This predatory behavior is a crime, a sin, and a clear violation of our employment policies, the teachings of the Catholic Church, and our mission as Christians," the statement said, adding that the archdioceses "requires clergy, employees, and volunteers to complete thorough background checks and rigorous child abuse prevention training."

According to the statement, Baba's employment has been terminated from St. Pius X, and he is no longer allowed on parish or school property. "We are committed to creating a safe environment for all and are fully cooperating with the investigation," it said.

According to Povolny, during Baba's pretrial release, he must avoid contact with minors and must not use electronic devices with internet access. Baba must also abide by other standard conditions, such as keeping the court advised of his address, and avoiding the use of alcohol, illegal drugs, and dangerous or deadly weapons.

Povolny could not give specific details about the sting operation through which Baba was arrested, but noted such efforts were ongoing year-round within the sheriff's office as part of an effort to identify child predators.

"Hopefully we can get them to talk to us before they find actual child victims," he said.

Such operations are conducted on "a variety of traditional social media platforms, including Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook," along with dating apps such as Tinder and Grindr, and the gaming sites Discord and Roblox, he said.