Family of Pastor Victim: "He's the Scum of the Earth"

By Drew Karedes
KTNV
January 27, 2012

http://www.ktnv.com/news/local/138182994.html

[with video]

Henderson, NV (KTNV) -- An international manhunt ends with a Las Vegas pastor arrested in Mexico and families of his alleged victims even more angry than before.

Investigators say Otis Holland used religion to sexually abuse teenage girls.

Holland is now in federal custody, awaiting extradition in San Diego. The 55-year-old was arrested after a tip that he had been living in a church in downtown Tijuana.

Holland had previously been arrested in Southern Nevada in December of 2010 and had appeared in court.

More girls came forward with accusations the following spring. Henderson Police issued an arrest warrant for 11 counts of sexual assault of a victim under 16, one count child abuse and one count of conspiracy to commit a crime.

Holland vanished in June after that warrant was filed.

A male and female family of member of an alleged victim are still furious that he was able to escape.

"He slipped through the cracks, and he was allowed to flee. I lost a lot of faith in the system," said the male family member. "To prey on a child and then use religion as a backing for that is pretty disgusting in my book."

Action News is concealing the identity of these two family members for their protection and the protection of the victim.

"I think he's the scum of the earth. It doesn't get any lower," said the male family member.

They say Holland has left a permanent scar on their family.

"I think he's a complete scumbag," said the female family member. "It's crazy to me that he was so calculated."

So far, at least three victims have come forward to accuse Holland.

Holland walked stone-faced and silent as he was brought back on American soil. A reporter from the ABC affiliate in San Diego asked him several questions, but he did not respond.

Police say Holland held church services inside a tax office on Hacienda Avenue in Las Vegas. He was also known to hold services elsewhere.

He would allegedly target troubled teens and offer to counsel them.

According to the relatives speaking with Action News, Holland would bring some of his victims to a sound-proofed "torture" room in his home.

"It was made for that purpose with soundproof walls. He had horrible things he used on the children in there," explained the male family member.

Authorities also allege that Holland would videotape some of his victims.

"I hope he spends the rest of his days enduring the same torment day in and day out that he put these young children through. That he never gets one second of happiness in his life," added the male family member.

The search for Otis Holland fell into the national spotlight when it recently appeared on the America's Most Wanted Show.

A tip from that show led to Holland's arrest.

Members of his congregation also issued a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Police believe there could be more victims who haven't come forward. Anyone with any more information in the case is asked to call the Henderson Police Dept. at (702) 267-4750 or Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555.

Holland is due in San Diego Superior Court for an extradition hearing on Friday at 8:30 a.m.