CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Daily News
By Brenda Gazzar, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/31/2013
Prosecutors have charged an usher at a Jehovah’s Witness church in Sun Valley with several sex abuse counts for allegedly assaulting four boys between the ages of 8 and 15 that he met through the church, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Marcelo Alonso Lozano, 34, who lives in the Sun Valley area, was charged with nine felony counts, including two counts each of aggravated sexual assault of a child, continuous sexual abuse and oral copulation of a person under 14. He also faces one count each of a forcible lewd act upon a child, lewd act upon a child and sodomy of a person under 14 with 10 years difference, officials said. The criminal complaint includes a special allegation of multiple victims.
Prosecutors identified the church as the Jehovah’s Witness, Sun Valley Spanish Congregation, though police identified it as the Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Sun Valley. The church is on the 12000 block of Wicks Street. The abuse allegedly took place between Jan. 1, 2006 and June 30, 2013.
Lozano pleaded not guilty to all counts during an arraignment Wednesday, according to Uchin Jang, a judicial assistant for Van Nuys courthouse Dept. 100.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.