San Diego priest charged with criminal sexual conduct in Minnesota

A Catholic priest has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct in Dakota County for having sex with a woman he was spiritually counseling.

Jacob Andrew Bertrand, 33, is currently an ordained priest in San Diego, Calif. Bertrand started advising the victim when they were both studying spirituality in Rome in 2009. He told her about his past sexual experiences and "mystically proposed to her" in Rome, according to the criminal complaint.

At her family's home in Mendota Heights the next year, investigators say Bertrand ministered to the victim's family and heard their confessions. He performed a private mass in the family's basement where he had sexual contact with the victim while wearing his stole. They also had sexual contact at her grandmother's cabin in Wisconsin, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators say Bertrand told the victim that she shouldn't tell anyone because their sexual experiences were so "mystical" that no one else would understand. He later told her by telephone that "the devil tempts me to think that you will tell someone and ruin my ministry," according to the criminal complaint.

The victim reported the sexual contact with Bertrand to the Catholic Church in 2012 and 2014.

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said in a statement that it's a felony under state law for clergy members to have sex with someone who isn't their spouse while providing spiritual or religious advice or aid.

Bertrand is scheduled to make his first court appearance at 9 a.m. on Monday.