Napa Valley Register
September 1, 2011
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/american-canyon-youth-pastor-arrested-in-benicia-on-suspicion-of/article_7f4fde46-d4cd-11e0-8f69-001cc4c03286.html
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| John Gamboa |
A 38-year-old American Canyon resident was arrested at 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Benicia Police Department on suspicion of sex abuse, according to Benicia police.
John Gamboa, a youth pastor at a Solano County church, allegedly began to text one of his Bible study students in February, police said. The girl's parents found out and were able to resolve the issue through the church, which was not identified to protect the privacy of the alleged victim, police said.
But the texts allegedly resumed in July, police said. According to police, Gamboa allegedly snuck into the family's home in August where he and the girl "engaged in kissing and inappropriate touching."
More text messages were subsequently exchanged, police said. Five days later, Gamboa allegedly met the girl at an event where, according to police, he "engaged in kissing" and "inappropriate touching" again.
The girl's mother eventually found the alleged text messages, police said. The girl confided to her parents what had happened, police said. The family reported the incidents to the Benicia Police Department, which then contacted Gamboa, police said.
Gamboa was arrested at the police department after providing a statement, police said. He was booked into the Solano County jail in Fairfield on suspicion of lewd acts with a child under the age of 14, contacting a minor for the purpose of engaging in lewd behavior, and burglary, police said.
"This illustrates the importance of parents monitoring the behavior of their children and, when necessary, the information on their children's cell phones," Benicia Police Lt. Mike Daley said.
"Sexual predators who have gained the trust of a child or minor have found texting an easy way to engage young children in conversations at any time of the day or night. We're thankful the parents came forward in this situation to help us immediately eliminate the contact that had developed in this case," Daley said.
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