Youth Pastor Charged With Sexually Assaulting Children Over Course Of Nearly Two Decades
A youth pastor in Wildomar, California, is in some serious trouble following allegations of sexual assault on juveniles.
Malo “Victor” Montiero of Colton, California, was arrested this past Friday after the Riverside Sheriff’s Department’s Lake Elsinore Station was able to locate and arrest Montiero, according to My Valley News. The 45-year-old, who is a youth pastor in the area, is accused of numerous felony charges that are related to sexual assault on juveniles whom he worked with.
The most recent allegation came this past June after it was reported that the pastor had committed lewd acts with children. It was later alleged that Montiero had been sexually assaulting children for nearly two decades, dating back from 1999 to as recently as this past June. There were several juvenile victims that the man allegedly sexually assaulted though the exact number was not disclosed.
US News shares that Montiero is facing a number of charges, including “intent to commit rape, mayhem or sodomy, lewd and lascivious acts on a child and sexual penetration by force.” It is not known if Montiero has yet obtained legal counsel or if he will be appointed a lawyer by the state. Authorities also did not disclose the name of the church where the troubled man worked.
According to the Press-Enterprise, a number (if not all) of the 45-year-old’s victims were under the age of 14 at the time of the heinous acts. Bail was set at $225,000 on Friday. It is also noted that jail records have his last name listed as “Monteiro” but the sheriff’s department spelled his name “Montiero.”
Youth Pastor Malo “Victor” Monteiro, booked for intent to commit rape, mayhem or sodomy, lewd & lascivious acts w/ force on a child under 14, lewd & lascivious acts on a child under 14, distributing harmful matter & sexual penetration by force. https://t.co/SztyKQIGj0
— C. Salina Harris (@C_SalinaH) July 28, 2018
And unfortunately, this is not the first time in recent months that a pastor has made headlines for all the wrong reasons. As the Inquisitr reported in June, 28-year-old Timothy “Timmy” Jeltema was accused of sending nude photos of himself to a minor. Jeltema is an ex-student pastor at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Tomball, Texas.
According to the report, a young girl’s family and church alerted authorities on June 9 and Jeltema was arrested on June 12. According to the minor, the 28-year-old asked the minor to send him explicit photos and asked to have sex with her. Detectives later uncovered that Jeltema had requested that at least 20-25 other young girls between the ages of 14 and 17 send him nude photos of themselves. Following the arrest, Champion Forest Baptist Church released a statement.
“Jeltema’s employment with us was terminated on May 15, 2018, the same day he was accused of, and admitted to, improper contact via social media with an 18-year-old member of our church. Though no laws were known to have been broken at that time, he was immediately dismissed for a clear violation of the church’s written code of conduct and his admission that he did not follow Champion Forest policies and regulations that pastors of students and adult volunteers must never communicate electronically one-on-one with students.”
Most of the reports surfaced after the man was terminated.
