Church volunteer charged with molestation

By Eric Woomer
Visalia Times-Delta
September 17, 2014

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/local/2014/09/18/church-volunteer-charged-molestation/15814447/

Daniel Sisk

A volunteer accused of molesting a child at a Visalia church has been charged by the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office.

Daniel Sisk, 34, of Visalia was charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14 and a special allegation that there was substantial sexual conduct.

If convicted, he faces 10 years in prison. He would be required to serve his sentence in state prison and his charges prohibit a judge from ordering felony probation.

The victim was a girl at The Road Church on Aug. 20 during an adult Wednesday evening Bible study. That’s when the alleged incident occurred. Sisk was arrested more than three weeks later on Sept. 11.

It’s not known how many people were in the room when the alleged touching occurred.

Pastor John Lloyd at The Road Church said his staff was blindsided by the reports and eventual arrest. The suspect, he said, passed multiple background checks prior to being allowed to volunteer.

At first, the girl’s family was hesitant to involve the police, but church leadership urged the parents to call if they felt uncomfortable in any way.

The 34-year-old Sisk was a also regular volunteer with children at Central Valley Christian Preschool and Growing In Grace Preschool, both in Visalia. Police believe that the inappropriate touching was an isolated incident and did not involve any other children.

No other victims have come forward, police said.

Detectives say at least some of Sisk’s volunteering was related to a College of the Sequoias child-development course he was taking.

A representative of CVC Preschool said that the suspect was a student at COS. He and other students in the child-development program are paired with mentor teachers at the preschool and receive credit for their involvement.

The college students are under the constant supervision of their mentor teachers while around children, Preschool Director Deana McCoy said.

Sisk is currently being held on $100,000 bail. He’s expected back in court on Sept. 24 for a preliminary hearing conference and again on Sept. 25 for a preliminary hearing.