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	Police Investigate Pastor Facing Sexual Assault Allegations By Claudia Grisales The Statesman October 14, 2011 http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2011/10/14/police_investigate_pastor_faci.html Austin police are investigating an Elgin man after at least four women came forward with allegations that the man, described as a pastor, had sexual contact with them in the early 1990s, court documents show. Francisco Antonio Hernandez, 53, of Elgin was booked into the Travis County Jail last night on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with child-sexual contact, jail records show. Now, police are looking into concerns that Hernandez, described as a “traveling pastor” who was known as “Pastor Javier” to some, may have had contact with additional victims in the Austin area, said Detective Sabrina Nichols of the child abuse unit for for the Austin Police Department. “He is not affiliated with any church we know of, but some knew him as Pastor or Pastor Javier or his actual name, and we would encourage any more victims to call police,” Nichols said. Witnesses told police Hernandez traveled to various private residences in the Austin area to hold services for a nondenominational church that had no name, Nichols said. The church was led by Hernandez, and services entailed reading from the Bible and singing, Nichols said. Hernandez led services for the church as early as the early 1990s and as recently as August of this year, Nichols said. It wasn’t immediately clear how many members the church may have, she said. Since an investigation into Hernandez was initiated in June, more victims have come forward, though Nichols declined to say how many. The victims ranged from 5 to 13 years of age, she said. Hernandez, who is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail, is also facing a immigration detainer because of questions about his U.S. residency status, jail records show. Austin police initiated the investigation after four women, including at least two sisters, came forward to report sexual abuse that occurred 20 years earlier, an arrest affidavit said. One victim, now 25, said Hernandez had made sexual contact with her when he was temporarily living in her home in the early 1990s, court documents said. Another victim said her parents traveled one weekend and left her and her sisters alone in the home with Hernandez, which is when one of the sexual abuse incidents was said to have occurred, court documents said. In May, Hernandez visited the parents of one of the victims and “asked for forgiveness,” the documents said. He also asked the mother of one of the victims to not tell police, an arrest affidavit said. Hernandez “told them he was feeling bad because he has been carrying this around with him for a long time and couldn’t bear it any longer,” an arrest affidavit said. Since 2007, there is no statute of limitations on claims related to sexual assault, which has allowed the victims to pursue charges against Hernandez. Anyone with information about Hernandez is asked to contact the Austin Police Department’s child abuse unit at 512-974-6880.
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