CANTON (OH)
WOIO - CBS 19 [Cleveland OH]
January 23, 2026
By Colton Molesky - WOIO and Julia Thyret
A Canton pastor pleaded guilty to a crime involving a 13-year-old girl.
Jesse Santos, pastor of Canton Seventh-Day Adventist Church, was arrested in February 2025 and charged with kidnapping, two counts of gross sexual imposition, and endangering children.
On Thursday, Santos entered a guilty plea to the amended charge of abduction.
He will be sentenced by Ashland County Court of Common Pleas Judge David Stimpert on March 5.
According to the police report, the crime happened at a campsite in the 3000 block of Ashland County Rd. at River Run Campground in Loudonville in September 2025.