Charlotte Ex-pastor Faces 26 More Sex Charges
By Steve Lyttle
A former minister at an east Charlotte church faces more than two dozen additional charges of sexual assault involving children, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. Authorities said Orlando Augusto Caldera, 64, is accused of assaulting children between ages 6 and 10. He was charged with 26 felonies, in addition to the two indecent liberties with a child charges that were filed last week. Caldera served for about five years as a minister at Memorial United Methodist Church, in the 4000 block of Central Avenue. He is no longer listed by the church as a staff member. The first arrest came Aug. 4, after police were called to the church to deal with a disturbance. They were met by a 10-year-old girl, a 6-year-old girl and the mother of one of the children. The three accused Caldera of inappropriately touching the children, and detectives charged Caldera after they interviewed him. At the time, CMPD said it had been contacted by other possible victims. That was followed by Wednesday’s announcement of the 26 additional charges. Investigators said the new charges are connected with five additional alleged victims they found. Police said they are continuing to investigate whether there were additional victims. [] Lyttle: 704-358-6107; Twitter: @slyttle Contact: slyttle@charlotteobserver.com
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