CALIFORNIA
The Orange County Register
By PETER LARSON / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
SANTA ANA – A Laguna Hills man who had acted as a pastor bowed his head and stared forward Wednesday as he was convicted of molesting five boys from the congregation during visits to his Lake Forest apartment.
A jury of seven women and five men deliberated less than two hours before finding Oscar Perez, 69, guilty of 22 counts of lewd acts upon a child younger than 14, four counts of lewd acts on a child, and sentencing enhancements for lewd acts against multiple victims.
Perez faces a maximum sentence of 330 years to life in prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration.
Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker said Perez asked victims’ parents to have their sons sleep over when he felt sick. The victims assisted Perez with services at Iglesia Antigua, a church that rented space at a Laguna Hills Episcopal Church, where he represented himself as a Catholic and Apostolic pastor and bishop.
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