Controversial religious leader Donald Weeks remained in the hospital Wednesday as police continued to investigate what they say are inconsistencies in his statements about his relationship with a teenage boy he is accused of molesting.
Weeks, 60, who gained widespread publicity after he gave sanctuary to convicted sex offender Cary Verse, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of multiple counts of oral copulation with a minor. He entered the hospital shortly after his arrest, following a diabetic attack.
Police were going through papers and Weeks' computer hard drive, which were seized Tuesday in the search of St. Patrick Abbey at 3700 E. 12th St.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Norbert Chu said because Wednesday was a court holiday, Weeks may not be charged until Friday.
He could be arraigned in the hospital, where he remains under police guard with bail set at $200,000.
"They are still putting the paperwork together," Chu said. "They confiscated a whole bunch of stuff, so they have to finish going through that."
Chu said because the alleged molestation took place more than six years ago, police will need corroborating evidence in addition to the victim's statements to make a case against Weeks.
Weeks' attorney, John Burris, said the priest has told him he is innocent of the charges. Burris added he is working to get the bail reduced. "The abbey is a low-budget operation, so I'd be surprised if he has any money for this."
Weeks has said he is an ordained priest of a branch of the Old Catholic Church, and is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. He maintained an extensive Web site with his biography and information on his programs.
But it appears that most of the information cannot be verified. He lists honorary doctorates from St. Jude Seminary, St. Ephrim Institute and the Pontifica Universitas Lateranensis, none of which could be located.
He also served as archbishop of the Apostolic Episcopal Church and abbott for the American Congregation of Saint Benedict -- a sect he may have created when he founded the abbey in 1999.
The site also lists other ministries with the same address as the abbey, including several programs -- such as housing for women -- that don't appear to exist.
Police said Wednesday Weeks made "inconsistent statements" to investigators about his relationship with a man who has told authorities Weeks started sexually molesting him a decade ago when he was 16.
Investigators with the Special Victims Unit would not be specific about the inconsistencies in Weeks' state-ments.
Police have said Weeks first met the victim, now 26, adjacent to a fountain near Lake Merritt. The boy was 14 then, and for two years Weeks "groomed" him in "classic pedophile fashion," police said, buying his family groceries and paying some of their bills. He also gave the youth part-time jobs and helped him with his homework.
When the youth turned 16, police said Weeks began orally copulating him at least once a week. At age 18 the victim broke off the relationship.
Police began investigating when a witness who claimed to know about Weeks' relationship with the boy called Council President Ignacio De La Fuente's office. The witness said he had seen Weeks in the news for taking Verse into the abbey March 11. De La Fuente referred the tip to police, who tracked down the victim about a week later.
Police also found some crack cocaine and a pipe during a search of the apartment Weeks shared with his friend, who now also may be charged with possession of the drug, authorities said.
Weeks was expected to spend Wednesday night in the hospital recovering. Police said that after his arrest Tuesday morning, Weeks was given his insulin and allowed to inject himself before being taken to police headquarters. Once there, however, he complained of feeling ill and was taken to the hospital.
The owners of the building at 3700 E. 12th St. were in the process of evicting Weeks, who had planned to move the 22 residents to a new home on 39th Avenue on Saturday. They contend Weeks owes them more than $50,000 in back rent.
It's not the first time he has been accused of owing rent to a landlord.
Paul Gilmore of Oakland said he rented a large property at 2277 62nd Ave. to Weeks in 1996. The rent was supposed to be $4,500 per month for 10 small, two-bedroom bungalows and a separate building with a communal kitchen.
"He rented it on the pretense of starting a church, then he loaded it up with people -- men and women. I think he had up to 30 at one time," Gilmore said. "He immediately started piecemealing the rent, and giving me these good stories. I was sympathetic for a while, but when I tried to confront him he got belligerent and nasty. He is not a man of God."
Weeks ended up filing a harassment case against Gilmore, which was later dropped. Gilmore said he got so behind on his mortgage the bank foreclosed on the building. He won a judgment against Weeks for $23,000, but never could collect on it.
Weeks also incurred a$5,000 lien on the building for electric work that was never paid for, according to public records.
Mona Breed, executive director of Sentinel Fair Housing, once represented 10 women whom Weeks evicted from the Holy Angels transitional shelter he ran on International Boulevard. Weeks had been collecting a total of $1,600 per month from them, but not paying the $600 rent on the building. He was evicted, and the women -- most of them recovering addicts -- were left high and dry.
Lt. Mike Yoell said police still believe there are other possible victims who have not come forward. Anyone with such information is asked to call investiga-tors at 238-7910.