BishopAccountability.org
	Church Worker Arrested on Sexual Abuse Charges Associated Press, carried in Ocala Star-Banner [Pompano Beach FL] July 6, 2007 http://www.starbanner.com/article/20070705/APN/707050932 A man who worked with two church congregations as a song leader and reported youth minister has been arrested and charged with sexual battery and molestation of at least four children, authorities said. Thiago Fernandes, 24, was arrested Tuesday after an 11-year-old boy told his parents that Fernandes grabbed his rear end and threatened to rape him on Sunday evening in the restroom of The First Christian Church in Pompano Beach, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. At the time, Fernandes was working for a Brazilian congregation that meets at the church during the evening, according to Ricardo Zuniga, an elder at The First Christian Church. Fernandes also directed a small group of adults in singing during Sunday morning services and played the piano or keyboard but did not have contact with children in the morning, Zuniga said. A telephone message left at the Brazilian congregation were not immediately returned. During questioning, Fernandes acknowledged to the lewd and lascivious act and identified three other children he had sexually molested, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. The other victims were a 7-year-old a boy, a 9-year-old boy who is now 13, and a 15-year-old molested between the ages of ten and 13, the Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The sheriff's office did not say where the molestations occurred. It was not clear if Fernandes had a lawyer, and no listing could be found for him. Fernandes was being held without bond.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.