Local Pastor Arrested in Mexico for Sexual Assault

By Carla J. Zvosec
Henderson Press
February 3, 2012

http://www.hendersonpress.com/local-news/item/915-local-pastor-arrested-in-mexico-for-sexual-assault

Otis Holland, a 55-year-old Las Vegas pastor, was arrested on Jan. 25 on 11 counts of sexual assault of a victim under the age of 16, one count of child abuse and conspiracy to commit a crime. This was not Holland’s first arrest for sex-related offenses on minors.

Otis Holland, 55, a Las Vegas pastor wanted on charges of having sex with underage girls, was captured on Wednesday, Jan. 25, in Mexico.

Holland disappeared from the Henderson area in June, after an arrest warrant was issued for him by the Henderson Police. The warrant was for 11 counts of sexual assault of a victim under the age of 16, one count of child abuse and conspiracy to commit a crime.

On a recent airing of Fox-TV's America's Most Wanted, the pastor's crimes were broadcast, bringing in a tip from a viewer who saw the program. The information was delivered to the U.S. Marshals Service, which had been working in conjunction with the Henderson Police in the search for Holland.

"He was a con man, and he used the church front for his schemes," said Kevin Abernathy, Henderson Police Department's lead investigator on the case, during the Jan. 20 airing of the show. "In the 19 years that I've been on the job, I would rank this as probably the worst case I've dealt with, as far as a predator identifying and abusing victims."

The Mexican National Police, coordinating with the U.S. Marshals Service, apprehended Holland without incident in Tijuana, Mexico, on Wednesday about 10 p.m., according to Javier Jimenez, assistant chief deputy U.S. Marshal.

Holland was deported from Mexico and custody was turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service. He currently is being held in the San Diego Central Jail pending extradition back to Henderson.

In December 2010, the pastor originally was arrested on three counts of sexual assault of a victim under 16. Upon investigation by detectives, however, it was discovered that there were allegations that Holland may have had inappropriate contact with other minors, too.

Holland was arrested in January 2011 on a felony count of lewdness with a minor under 14 years old, which involved allegations from yet another girl.

The current arrest warrant for Holland stems from an investigation involving two additional girls who came forward about a month before Holland fled the area.

Holland acted as pastor of the United Faith Church, which had been holding its services in the lobby of a tax service business on Hacienda Avenue in Las Vegas. The alleged incidents involving Holland are said to have occurred at various locations in Henderson and Las Vegas.

The Henderson Police Department is asking anyone with information regarding this case to call 267-4750 or Crime Stoppers, to remain anonymous, at 385-5555.