Ex-roc Pastor Indicted on New Sexual Assault Charges
By Louis Llovio
A Texas grand jury on Wednesday indicted Geronimo Aguilar, the disgraced former senior pastor of the Richmond Outreach Center, in an alleged sexual assault of a second child. Aguilar, who founded the Midlothian Turnpike megachurch known as the ROC, was indicted Wednesday on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, three counts of sexual assault of a child under 17 and three counts of indecency with a child. The two aggravated sexual assault charges are first-degree felonies that carry a maximum term of life in prison. The remaining charges are second-degree felonies with a maximum sentence of 20 years each in prison. The new charges stem from allegations of abuse beginning in 1996 involving a then-13-year-old girl, the older of two sisters. Aguilar already had been indicted on charges alleging abuse of her younger sister, who was 11 at the time. Wednesday’s indictment means Aguilar will face two trials. Aguilar did not respond to an email requesting comment, and his attorney, David Carlson, did not return a message left at his Henrico County office. Aguilar, 43, was arrested in May and extradited to Texas when authorities in Tarrant County charged him with sexually assaulting the 11-year-old and her 13-year-old sister. The new counts stem from the alleged abuse of the older sister, who is referred to by the pseudonym April More in court papers. The new indictment lays out in graphic detail allegations of repeated sexual encounters with the girl beginning in October 1996 when she was 13. A grand jury indicted him in September on two counts of aggravated sexual assault on a child younger than 14 and on two counts of indecency with a child. That indictment covers the case dealing with the younger sister, who is referred to in court papers by the pseudonym Lake Valley. According to warrants for his arrest, Aguilar, then 26, began his sexual relationship with the two victims in October 1996 while lying in bed between the two girls. The abuse continued after that with inappropriate touching at the home and at the church, the warrants say. Shortly after moving to Grapevine, Texas, which is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, in March 1997, he had sex with the younger girl in the family’s living room, where he was caught by her parents, according to police. The parents, according to the arrest warrants, have given police a written statement saying that Aguilar admitted having sex with the girl, who was 12 by then. The latest indictment adds to the problems of a man who just a year ago was being cheered by throngs of parishioners who hung on his every word. In early May, police in Fort Worth confirmed they were investigating allegations that Aguilar had sexually assaulted two girls. He was arrested several weeks later and was forced in June to quit the church he founded in 2001. As part of a severance agreement when he left the church, he was allowed to remain in a half-million-dollar South Richmond home that acted as a parsonage until December. The church didn’t respond last month when asked whether Aguilar had moved out, but a neighbor said the home has been vacant since Dec. 8. In a public statement after his arrest, Aguilar acknowledged the effect the case was having on his family. “As you all know, my family and I have been facing difficult trials and persecution. This has taken a toll on me and my family, as well as those close to me,” Aguilar wrote in a letter posted on the ROC’s website but eventually removed. “Unfortunately, during this difficult season, the focus has been taken off of Jesus and put on me, and that is not what the ROC is all about.” In September, the ROC announced that after Aguilar left, the church learned he had been having a string of extramarital affairs within the church and throughout the community. Aguilar remains free on bond. A trial date has not been set. LLLovio@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6348
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