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	Cries of Abuse, Outrage Erupt at Church Scandal - the Case against a Portland Pastor Began When Female Parishioners Rose to Confront Him By Maxine Bernstein The Oregonian October 20, 2007 http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/119285611673440.xml&coll=7 At least 100 people were gathered for Sunday afternoon prayer at a Northeast Portland church when a woman stood to interrupt the preacher's sermon with some alarming allegations. Pastor Sergio Alvarizares, she said, had used sweet talk and lavish compliments to draw her into his office, lock the door and make unwanted sexual advances. Soon, other women rose to make similar accusations. A ruckus erupted, and the pastor tried to shout over them from the pulpit, "That's a lie! That's a lie!" At least 100 people were gathered for Sunday afternoon prayer at a Northeast Portland church when a woman stood to interrupt the preacher's sermon with some alarming allegations. Pastor Sergio Alvarizares, she said, had used sweet talk and lavish compliments to draw her into his office, lock the door and make unwanted sexual advances. Soon, other women rose to make similar accusations. A ruckus erupted, and the pastor tried to shout over them from the pulpit, "That's a lie! That's a lie!" Church leaders and the pastor's son called police. "The crowd is going wild," one caller said, ". . . while the pastor is trying to preach." A dispatcher alerted officers: "Complainant says church people inside are out of control. . . . Everyone is hostile at the preacher." The Sept. 30 event at Casa del Padre, a nondenominational Spanish-speaking church, sparked a two-week police investigation that resulted in a 15-count indictment against Alvarizares on charges of rape and sexual abuse. Alvarizares, 38, was arraigned in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Friday morning, pleading not guilty. Judge Christopher Larsen doubled his bail to $5.8 million. The indictment, unsealed Friday, accuses Alvarizares of using his position as pastor to rape or sexually abuse six women parishioners between January 2003 and March 2007. Congregants familiar with the allegations said some of the advances occurred in the pastor's offices, sometimes when others were inside the church. Others allege the pastor assaulted them at hotels. Police interviewed eight women before Alvarizares' arrest Monday, and detectives heard from a ninth woman Friday. On Oct. 12, a Multnomah County grand jury indicted Alvarizares on one count of first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree attempted rape, 10 counts of first-degree sexual abuse and two counts of third-degree sexual abuse. He's accused of raping one woman in the fall of 2005 and attempting to rape two others in the winter of 2004. The indictment says he compelled the women and four others into having sexual contact, trying to kiss or grope them. "In some of the cases, physical force was used," Sgt. Brian Schmautz, Portland police spokesman, said Friday. "In some of the cases, he'd say you needed some specific counseling and take them into his office and lock the door." "This is an emergency" At the Sept. 30 service, the pastor left the pulpit during the uprising and ducked into his office, congregants said. "This is an emergency," said one 9-1-1 caller, among those who reported the incident starting at 2:46 p.m. Another said five people were trying to get onto the pulpit. "Someone wants to fight the pastor," another caller reported. At 2:48 p.m., Portland police arrived at the church at 1725 N.E. Alberta St. and stayed about 25 minutes. That night, a group of women gathered at a home in Fairview and called the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office to report their allegations. A deputy took the information and turned it over to Portland detectives. Alvarizares and his wife have been co-pastors for several years at Casa del Padre, or "Father's House." The growing church, with a congregation of about 800 adults, has moved several times. It started in Alvarizares' home in Vancouver, then moved to Northeast 104th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard, and then to Southeast 14th Avenue and Ankeny Street before settling into a modest storefront on Alberta Street. Crimes allegedly occurred at some of the other locations as well, Portland police Detective Jeff Sharp said. During the Sept. 30 confrontation, the pastor's supporters fought with his accusers, saying they were jealous of the pastor's good fortune, witnesses said. Noe Hernandez, who has been attending the church for about a year, said some of the women started having dreams about the abuse. The first woman stood after she got "confirmation from God" that it was the right moment, he said, and after learning she wasn't alone. Among the allegations is that the pastor told at least one of the women that he wanted to share a message from the Lord with her, getting her alone in his office. All the women are younger than 45; some are married with families. "We're not out to destroy this man. This is not what we want," Hernandez said. "But we want to get the truth out to people." Another churchgoer, Benjamin Zaldana, said he was sad to learn of the allegations because he worked closely with the pastor, even traveled with him. "I feel he was taking advantage of his position. It's destroying people's faith; now we don't even know who to believe in. All the time, we trusted that guy." Alvarizares, who has three sons, was arrested Monday at a home in Ridgefield, Wash. State fears he may flee At Friday's arraignment, the state unsuccessfully sought to raise bail to $10 million, arguing that Alvarizares has access to money and might return to his native country, Guatemala. "We have a person who leads a lavish lifestyle, who is well experienced in fundraising and has contacts to a number of foreign countries," argued Chris Ramras, Multnomah County deputy district attorney. Instead, the judge doubled the bail from $2.9 million. Ramras said he was concerned that the pastor, though a legal U.S. resident since 1989, had contacts with more than 12,000 congregants around the world, including in India, Cuba and South America, and had heavy fundraising capabilities in those countries. He referred to a December 2003 e-mail Alvarizares sent to a Vancouver pastor noting his intent to raise $3,000 in Guatemala the following winter. He also said the home where Alvarizares was arrested was recently put on the market for just under $1.4 million. "If he were to flee to Guatemala or elsewhere, it would be difficult to extradite him," Ramras said. Alvarizares' lawyer, Wendell Birkland, argued Friday that the pastor had no criminal record and was willing to surrender his passport. Birkland called the request for $10 million bail "excessive, unreasonable and unnecessary." He turned the pastor's passport over to the state. It was to be locked in a court vault, pending the outcome of the case. Alvarizares' brother, Victor Alvarizares Jr., who is a pastor at a church branch in Beaverton, appeared in court, but had no comment. Researcher Lynne Palombo and staff writer Alex Pulaski of The Oregonian contributed to this story. Maxine Bernstein, 503-221-8212; maxinebernstein@news.oregonian.com
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