LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A priest who admitted a sexual relationship with an underage girl was later hired by the Los Angeles Unified School District, school officials said.
Though the former clergyman, Joseph Pina, did not come into contact with students during the course of his job with the district, Superintendent John Deasy said he found it "troubling" such a person was hired in the first place.
Pina said he "fell in love" with a girl who he first saw as an eighth-grader in a Snow White costume, a psychological report released under a court order against the Los Angeles Archdiocese said.
"She dressed as Snow White ... I had a crush on Snow White, so I started to open myself up to her," he told the psychologist. "I felt like I fell in love with her. I got sexually involved with her, but never intercourse. She was about 17 when we got involved sexually, and it continued until she was about 19."
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The Los Angeles Times said Monday Pina's full employment record wasn't available during the weekend but his job, which has since been eliminated, was tied to a large capital project. Pina acted as a community outreach agent, speaking to residents and business owners in neighborhoods affected by the capital project, gaining public input about where to build new schools.
Though Pina does not work for the district anymore, officials said he had been brought back occasionally to help plan events in communities where he worked, such as ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the new facilities. Deasy said any future plans to hire Pina on a per diem basis have been canceled.
