Former Las Vegas Pastor Sentenced to 60 Years to Life in Prison for Sexual Assault
By David Ferrara
One young woman told a Clark County judge of “the man I hate the most” and the “foul, repulsive” things her pastor did to her. She recalled weeping on the floor of her shower, “afraid of everything.” That man, Otis Holland, “damaged our family,” the woman’s mother said Wednesday. Another told the judge he “robbed me of my innocence and my free will.” The 59-year-old Holland, who prosecutors said created a church as an outlet to rape several minor girls, maintained his innocence. Earlier this year, a jury convicted him on 15 counts, related to three young girls, including sexual assault of a minor and lewdness with a child. “I did not have a fair trial,” he said repeatedly. “It was a lynching.” District Judge Stefany Miley made no comment on the allegations as she categorically handed down a sentence for each count. The total: 60 years to life in prison. Meanwhile, prosecutors are pursuing 22 other charges against Holland to account for five more alleged victims who were not represented in Holland’s January trial. Holland was the pastor for United Faith Church, which held services in a storefront on Hacienda Avenue, near Tropicana and Eastern avenues. He met privately with the girls under the guise of “counseling” them about sexual issues, and then performed sex acts on them, special prosecutor Robert Langford said. Defense lawyer John Parris told Miley that, as a pastor, Holland worked in “enriching the lives of others” and “being there for people in need. In order to be a pastor for 20 years, one has to be able to connect, one has to be able to provide for those who attend the services.” Mexican police arrested Holland in Tijuana in 2012 after Holland’s case was profiled on the “America’s Most Wanted” television program. Holland was originally arrested in December 2010 on three counts of sexually assaulting a victim younger than 16. A subsequent investigation led detectives to believe there were other victims. Holland was arrested again in January 2011 on a charge of lewdness with a minor younger than 14 years old. Two more girls came forward late in the spring of 2011, authorities said at the time. The incidents occurred at locations in Las Vegas and Henderson, authorities said. Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker
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