An Oklahoma pastor has been accused of trafficking members of a church that he ran from his home. He abused the members under the guise of ministry, authorities report.

Elmer Baca Flores, the pastor of Ministerio Levantando Adoradores Para Cristo in Del City, Oklahoma, had five counts of human trafficking for labor and one count of sexual battery filed against him on October 31.

Flores allegedly victimized the church members in his Oklahoma City-area church by forcing them to quit their jobs and move into his home, according to a press release from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN).

He also isolated church members and forced them to work for him without pay, OBN spokesman Mark Woodward said.

“He would threaten them with physical harm if they attempted to leave, claiming he was a member of the violent gang, MS-13,” Woodward added. “Flores used his influence as a pastor to spiritually coerce the victims by targeting their religious convictions.”

One church member allegedly told OBN agents that Flores gave her a test “to prove her ability to resist temptation.” But during this test, he allegedly sexually battered the victim, Woodward said.

The OBN has been investigating Flores since March. Then in April, Oklahoma City police arrested Flores on three counts of lewd acts with a child. In October, the Oklahoma County district attorney’s office added five counts of human trafficking for labor and one count of sexual battery to Flores’ charges, according to the OBN.

Last week, the latest court filing brought his total number of charges to nine, inclusive of the additional charges including trafficking.

Donnie Anderson, the director of the OBN, said that Flores is a “predator” who is now off the streets. “He can no longer prey on the innocent and vulnerable,” Anderson said.  

Flores allegedly brainwashed his congregation

When Flores was first arrested in April, he had been a pastor in the community for years, according to court records obtained by KFOR Oklahoma’s News 4, an NBC affiliate.

Two members of the church told local authorities that Flores had brainwashed their wives, KFOR reported. Flores reportedly made the wives quit their jobs and move themselves, along with their kids, to live with the pastor.

Flores told church members that he spoke for God and that an underage girl who was part of the church was the “chosen one,” according to KFOR.

The church members supposedly believed him and allowed the girl to sleep in his bedroom.

In March, the 16-year-old girl was taken to the CARE Center, a social center for children experiencing abuse. She reportedly told police that Flores would test the loyalty of church members by molesting her.

She said this occurred on several occasions, KFOR reported. In one instance, he allegedly told the victim to have sex with him as a test to “reject the temptation of the flesh.”

While she said she was uncomfortable with these conversations, she told police that Flores assured her she wouldn’t get “pregnant with him like she would with younger boys because he was working through God.”

Additionally, several other church members reported that Flores sexually abused them as well, according to KFOR. 

“I’ve got goosebumps on me. Like, I just can’t believe this,” a neighbor who knew the suspect told KFOR. “That sounds like, almost like a cult to me.”

This kind of abuse is common for those in roles of power, Stacy McNeiland, a former worker at the Care Center, told KOCO 5 News , an affiliate of ABC.

“Master manipulators are trying to take advantage of children,” McNeiland said. “As parents, we have to be hypervigilant about protecting them. Ninety percent of the time, children are abused by someone they know, love, and trust.”

Flores is currently in jail on a $250,000 bond, according to court records.

Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.