A perverted pastor killed his 12-year-old lover after she ended their two-year affair for a teenage boy, police have said.

Christian minister Jose Baltazar Hernandez Molina, 31, moved into the town of Maclovio Rojas, in the north-western Mexican state of Baja California, after being deported as an illegal alien from the United States.

He was able to become pastor of the local church and later seduced 12-year-old Adriana Sanchez Beltran, investigators say.

The pair had a two-year affair but the relationship ended when Adriana refused to let him move into her home and that she wanted to see someone her own age.

When Molina found out she was seeing a teenage boy, he flew into a jealous age, police say.

He tracked her down in his pick-up truck and dragged her into the vehicle where he attacked her and then killed her by breaking her neck.

A post-mortem exam found the young girl's body was entirely covered with bruises where he had beaten her before finally killing her.

Yet when arrested Molina claimed it was an accident and he had not meant to hurt her.

Mexican Deputy Against Organised Crime, Miguel Angel Guerrero, said that the priest had admitted killing her in a jealous rage and now felt sorry about what happened.

He said: "He has been charged with murder and rape because the girl was underage. We are also investigating who else knew about his relationship and why they did nothing."

If convicted, the priest faces up to 50 years in jail.