CALIFORNIA
KABC
Rob McMillan
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) — A longtime pastor in San Bernardino County made his first court appearance Monday to answer sexual molestation and child abuse charges that date back more than a decade.
Stephen Howard, 54, is accused of sexually abusing children he met in his own church, Muscoy United Methodist Church. The abuse allegedly lasted for more than a decade. He allegedly paid his victims for sex.
Monday, Howard faced a judge in a San Bernardino County courtroom just a few miles from the Muscoy church where’s he’s served as head pastor for 13 years.
According to sheriff’s detectives, Howard sexually abused at least two victims, a 14-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man, both of whom Howard apparently met while at church.
“The 23-year-old victim stated that the sexual abuse by the suspect had been occurring since he was 9 years old, and that the victims stated to investigators that the suspect had been sexually abusing them for money,” said Jodi Miller, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
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