CALIFORNIA
Patch
By Sarah de Crescenzo
The pastor of a Laguna Hills church was convicted Wednesday of molesting five boys—ranging in age from 9 to 15—in his congregation as they slept over or visited his Lake Forest apartment.
Oscar D. Perez Perez was convicted of 22 counts of lewd acts on a child younger than 14 and four counts of lewd acts on a child. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 14.
Perez faces up to 330 years to life in prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker. The minimum sentence would be 15 years to life, she said.
Perez claims to be a bishop and pastor of Iglesia Antigua, or Old Church, which at the time of his arrest rented space at St. George’s Episcopalian Church in Laguna Hills. Perez’s church is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church or the Diocese of Orange.
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