VIRGINIA/TEXAS
The Roanoke Times
Geronimo Aguilar, the former South Richmond pastor who once commanded huge audiences with his charismatic sermons, will be in a Texas courtroom this week, fighting to avoid life in prison.
Jury selection is set to start Monday for Aguilar, 45, who is accused in Tarrant County Court in Fort Worth, Texas, of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl and her 13-year-old sister in the 1990s.
Just three years ago, Aguilar was riding high, preaching to packed crowds at the Richmond Outreach Center and leading a house of worship with millions of dollars in assets, including about 10 nonprofit organizations — including a real estate foundation, cafe, thrift store, fitness center, child care center and clothing line, plus a tutoring company in Florida.
The ROC was one of the area’s biggest churches. It catered to former drug users and the alienated but also attracted the well-heeled and the middle class. On Friday, it officially changed its name to Celebration Church and Outreach Ministry and announced the hiring of a minister experienced at turning around troubled churches.
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