MASSACHUSETTS
Lowell Sun
By Lisa Redmond, lredmond@lowellsun.com
LOWELL — The pastor of a small local church grimaced as a Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced him to 15 to 18 years in state prison for raping and abusing a young girl for a decade.
Defiant to the end, Oscar Sanchez told Lowell Superior Court Judge Robert Ullmann, “I never touched her. I never raped her.”
A jury found Sanchez, 35, guilty last month. His wife, Luisa Osario-Sanchez, 43, was found guilty of assault and battery and reckless endangerment of a child. She was sentenced to one year in jail.
Osario-Sanchez accused the victim of “manipulating the system,” yet she told her, “I love you and I forgive you.”
Sanchez and Osario-Sanchez are co-pastors of the Church of God The Holy Branch on Loring Street.
Sanchez will be on probation for 10 years, and Osario-Sanchez for five years, following their release. Both also must comply with a list of conditions, including no contact with the victim or witnesses who testified during the trial last month.
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