A southern California pastor is facing 18 charges of sexual abuse against children, including sexual intercourse and sodomy, the Ontario Police Department announced in a press release last week.
Jose Alcides Vasquez, 47, was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting multiple girls younger than 10 at his former residence in Ontario, California, police reported.
Vasquez recently worked as the head pastor at the Menifee location of Iglesia De Cristo Camino De Santidad—a multisite, international church ministering primarily to Spanish-speakers. Prior to this, Vasquez pastored and volunteered at several other nearby churches, according to police.
The pastor’s charges include three counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor; 10 counts of sexual intercourse/sodomy with a child younger than 10 years old; two counts of sexual penetration/oral copulation with a child younger than 10 years old; and three counts of aggravated circumstances sex offenses.
De acuerdo a registros de la corte, victims claim the sexual abuse occurred between 2010-2014. Police did not specify if Vasquez’s alleged assaults were tied to his work as a pastor.
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Vasquez now lives in Menifee, about 50 miles south of Ontario and 80 miles southwest of Los Angeles.
Officials first learned of Vasquez’s alleged sexual abuses in August 2021 when a high school administrator told police that a student claimed her neighbor had sexually assaulted her. The student identified her neighbor as Vasquez, police reported.
Then another victim came forward in July 2024 and testified against Vasquez. Her allegations gave “additional evidence that further incriminated Vasquez,” police said.
Police arrested and charged Vasquez at his home “without incident” on September 5.
Vasquez is currently in jail at the West Valley Detention Center on a bond of $500,000 according to San Bernardino Superior court records. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The pastor had a hearing on Monday and will next appear in court for a preliminary hearing on September 23, according to registros de la corte.
Police are urging any additional victims to come forward.
Established in Los Angeles, the mission of Iglesia de Cristo Camino de Santidad is to “preach the gospel to as many places may our Lord Jesus Christ send us to,” according to the church’s sitio web.
The church has locations based in California, Texas, Oregon, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
While the church’s website currently does not mention its Menifee location, an versión archivada of the webpage does. The archived page lists Vasquez as the Menifee pastor.
El Informe Roys (TRR) reached out to Iglesia de Cristo Camino de Santidad for comment but did not hear back prior to publication.
Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.
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Una respuesta
We should keep this story in mind the next time George Barna releases a study about why young people no longer want anything to do with church or organized religion.
Yes, I understand that not all churches, not all pastors, and not all organized religion is bad or evil, but after so many problems occurring for so long, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when organized religion is viewed with skepticism and caution.
I’d like to think the church and organized religion could do better, but maybe my hopes are too high.