CALIFORNIA
KPCC
An assistant pastor and counselor at Las Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk allegedly assaulted at least 20 women in the church’s congregation over an eight-year period, preying mostly on undocumented immigrants, L.A. Sheriff’s officials reported Thursday.
Sgt. Al Garcia, with the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Special Victims Bureau, said Jorge Juan Castro, 54, would threaten to report his victims to immigration authorities if they told anyone what he’d done. He also allegedly told the women they’d be publicly humiliated if they came forward.
“From what we understand, some of the victims went to him for counseling for various reasons, and during that counseling session, he would perform certain acts with them in the name of God,” Garcia said.
At some point, Garcia said, the women approached church officials with their allegations and the church’s administrator brought the accusations to the sheriff’s station in Norwalk.
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