Former South Bay Pastor Faces Molestation Charges
The 77-year-old former pastor of the now-defunct Santuario de Oracion church has been arrested on suspicion of molesting three elementary school-age girls. According to a news report in The Daily Breeze, the retired pastor faced arraignment at the Torrance courthouse for multiple counts of molestation. Officials say that over a two-year period, the man allegedly molested the three girls at his north Torrance home and at his church located at Prairie Avenue and 180th Street.
Individuals under the age of 18 cannot legally give consent to sexual activity with an adult. Therefore, all sex acts involving a minor are illegal and can result in life-altering penalties. Under California Penal Code 288: “any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act … upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony.”
