Church Deacon Arrested in Alleged Rape of Girl, 13

By Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman
Philadelphia Inquirer
January 11, 2013

www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20130111_Church_deacon_arrested_in_alleged_rape_of_girl__13.html

A church deacon has been arrested on charges he raped a 13-year-old girl at a Bensalem motel two years ago, police announced Thursday.

District Judge Leonard Brown arraigned Humberto Cervantes, 34, of Coatesville, on nine offenses and ordered him held on $1 million bail. Police said Cervantes was a deacon at a Trenton Pentecostal church when he befriended the alleged victim, now 15.

Police said Cervantes met with the alleged victim several times in Bensalem.

The two "went to a few parks and talked about church, life, and family," police said. "On the final visit, when the victim believed they were going to a park, Cervantes took her to a Bensalem motel and raped her," police alleged.

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The rape occurred May 1, 2011, according to the criminal docket in the case.

Bensalem police said Cervantes left the church's ministry shortly after the alleged rape. Police said he is now affiliated with a Pentecostal church on Ontario Street in North Philadelphia. Both of the churches belong to the Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus, a mainly Hispanic denomination, according to Bensalem Sgt. Andrew Aninsman.

The denomination's website had phone numbers listed for pastors at both churches.

A man who answered the phone at the Philadelphia church gave the phone to a woman who said Cervantes had been with the Philadelphia church for only one month.

"He's not a member with responsibilities. He didn't have any responsibility yet," the woman said.

The Trenton church did not return repeated phone calls for comment.

The Bensalem Police Special Victims Unit arrested Cervantes on Wednesday at his workplace in Malvern, police said.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled before Brown at 9 a.m. Jan. 22.