CALIFORNIA
Press-Telegram
By Greg Yee, Press-Telegram
A former member of a Mormon church in Long Beach was sentenced to eight years in state prison this week after pleading “no contest” to criminal charges in a sexual assault case.
Daniel Montoya, 55, entered the pleas on two counts of sodomy against the victim’s will with a minor 14 or older, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records. He has previously been convicted of molesting two teen boys in the 1970s and was arrested again in October 2014 after additional victims came forward.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind,” said Eric Hawkins, an LDS spokesman, in a statement. “Anyone who abuses a child is rightfully subject to both formal sanction from the Church — including loss of membership — and criminal prosecution. Montoya has been excommunicated from the Church, the most severe penalty we can impose. We have been supportive of the efforts of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute this case.”
One of the recent victims told police that Montoya called in April and began asking about his 8-year-old son, according to a police statement at the time of his arrest.
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