LEOMINSTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gmurray@telegram.com
WORCESTER — A former Leominster church pastor convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old girl has lost his bid for a new trial.
The Rev. Angel Morales, 34, onetime pastor of the Casa de Restauracion Church at 134 Spruce St., Leominster, was sentenced to 10 to 12 years’ imprisonment in 2011 after being found guilty by a Worcester Superior Court jury of two counts of child rape aggravated by age difference. The jury acquitted him on a third count.
The victim, whose family attended Rev. Morales’ church, testified at his February 2011 trial that she and her pastor engaged in sexual intercourse three times in late 2009 and early 2010, when she was 14 years old.
Rev. Morales admitted to two sexual encounters with the girl when questioned by Leominster police detectives. A DVD of the videotaped interview was played for the jury.
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