Salem Pastor Sentenced to 37 Years for Sexually Abusing Girl
By Jim Ryan
A Salem pastor has been sentenced to more than 37 years in prison for sexually abusing a girl under 14 years old. Mauricio Aguilera-Garcia, 56, was arrested in July after a weeklong investigation, a Marion County Sheriff's Office spokesman said at the time. He met the girl through his church, Our Father's House, the spokesman said. Prosecutors said Aguilera-Garcia opted to plead guilty near the end of his first day of trial rather than continue with two more trial days. His victim testified about being sexually abused by Aguilera-Garcia, who was then her pastor and close to her family, the county district attorney's office said in a news release. Aguilera-Garcia pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of second-degree rape and two counts of both second-degree sodomy and unlawful sexual penetration, court records show. He has since been convicted on the charges and sentenced to 37-1/2 years in prison, prosecutors said. The abuse happened between June 2010 and June 2012, according to his indictment. Aguilera-Garcia was convicted of sex abuse against a child under 12 years old in 1985, prosecutors said. -- Jim Ryan Contact: jryan@oregonian.com
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