The pastor of a California church was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing one of his parishioners when she was just a teenager, according to authorities and a report.
Victor Manuel Hernandez-Pineda, director of Iglesia Pentecostes Movimiento De Gloria, was arrested Friday after an investigation was launched Nov. 9, Richmond police reportedly said.
The 53-year-old spiritual leader was arrested on suspicion of three counts of kidnapping and four counts of sexual abuse of a girl under 14, police said, Mercury News reported.
Charges are expected to be officially filed early next week, according to the outlet.
The victim was a member of his church, authorities said.
Karen Cifuentes, now 21, recently told her parents about the disgusting acts committed against her by Hernandez-Pineda when she was just 13 years old, ABC 7 San Francisco reported.
“He took me to a hotel near the school and at that moment I told him that I didn’t feel safe,” Cifuentes told the station through a translator.
“I didn’t feel good and we weren’t supposed to do it, but he made me do it.”
Víctor Manuel Hernández-Pineda was arrested on Friday. ABC7
The pastor allegedly convinced her that it was God’s will for them to have sex, she also told the station. Still, she resisted because of the age difference and because he was married and her pastor, ABC 7 reported.
“It changed my life completely, mentally. I was dead. He killed me. I didn’t think the same, my grades went down. I was angry with my parents at home. I acted wrong. I couldn’t tell my parents anything and I was always angry,” Cifuentes said, noting that the sexual abuse occurred five times in three years.
The pastor is accused of sexually abusing the girl when she was 13 years old. ABC7 declined to comment when approached by a reporter. ABC7
Before his arrest, a reporter from the station confronted him about the allegations before Sunday services. He seemed stunned and said nothing when the journalist mentioned the sexual abuse.
Hernández-Pineda is now being held on $7 million bail and authorities are investigating whether he had any more potential victims.
“It’s always disheartening when someone in a position of trust, especially in a church, is alleged to have committed a crime as heinous as this,” Richmond Police Lt. Donald Patchin told NBC Bay Area.
“It’s always concerning and unfortunate when we have to investigate these types of crimes.”
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn