A priest found by the Catholic Diocese of Oakland to have engaged in inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature with female employees at St. Joseph Basilica in Alameda and moved to a Pleasant Hill parish, causing a torrent of complaints, was removed late Monday from living at that rectory, The Chronicle has learned.

Alameda police confirmed Monday the department has an “active investigation” into Rev. George Alengadan that started in July after a woman contacted the department. Lt. Hosh Durani said the allegations against Alengadan were “sexual in nature” with at least one adult alleged victim.

In an email to parishioners, Christ the King Catholic School canceled a scheduled meeting Monday night to discuss the controversial movement of Alengadan to the Pleasant Hill parish until Bishop Michael Barber returned from meetings in Rome to provide more direction.

“Father Alengadan will not be living or ministering at Christ the King Parish until further notice,” the email concluded.

Letters from the bishop and chancellor were attached to Monday’s announcement detailing Father Alengadan’s saga since allegations were voiced against him in July, including some contradictions from what a diocese spokeswoman told The Chronicle on Friday.

On July 29, Bishop Barber wrote the St. Joseph community that three days earlier the diocese became aware of allegations of “sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature by Father George Alengadan toward a female employee (not a minor).”

He announced Alengadan would be placed on leave during an internal probe. Alengadan would leave his St. Joseph residence and “reside elsewhere” during the investigation, Barber said.

Durani said police were not notified of the allegations by the diocese or parish, contrary to what a diocese spokeswoman told The Chronicle on Friday. Spokeswoman Helen Osman said Monday she misspoke last week.

Durani said the criminal investigation still needed a “couple more interviews.”

In a letter to the Alameda and Pleasant Hill church communities Monday, diocese chancellor Stephen Wilcox stressed no children were involved in the allegations.

Alengadan was “alleged to have engaged in inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature with current and former female employees, most of whom worked at the school and/or parish,” Wilcox said. Alengadan denied the allegations, but an independent investigator conducted an internal probe over several months and substantiated the claims, he said.

Wilcox said the investigator “made no determination whether the conduct constituted sexual harassment or a violation of any law.” The diocese had said last week that Alengadan sexually harassed multiple women.

The allegations and investigation involved a “serious and sensitive” personnel matter, Wilcox said, so it was important to protect the privacy of all involved and he would not release the report.

The woman went to police “shortly before” reporting her allegations to the diocese, and the “diocese did not contact the police to file a report,” he said, adding that the diocese would cooperate with any law enforcement investigation.

Both Alengadan and the woman were notified of the results of the probe and in December the priest and Barber agreed he should resign from St. Joseph “for the good of the parish and school communities,” Wilcox said. By resigning, there would be no possibility of retaliation, he added.

Announcements of the resignation were read at the last Masses before Christmas, and to school and parish employees. At the bishop’s request, Alengadan has started supplemental training and counseling, Wilcox said.

Alengadan continues to serve as a Catholic priest, including celebrating Mass, contrary to what the diocese told The Chronicle on Friday. Several parishioners felt betrayed and angry at the secrecy behind the move and said Alengadan had performed reconciliation with grade school children offering him their first confessions. In the letter, Wilcox stressed that the priest, who has returned from traveling to his family in India, has not held any supervisory roles involving employees at Christ the King.

The Chronicle has been unable to reach Alengadan.

In a 2007 Catholic Voice feature on Alengadan, the diocese newspaper reported the Salesian father was born in Irinjalakuda, Kerala, India. He was ordained by Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on June 6, 1982.

He holds a doctorate in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and taught there as an adjunct professor. He was a former pastor of St. Ambrose Parish in Berkeley.

Matthias Gafni is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni