Court Documents Show Arrested Odessa Pastors Conducted Own Investigation

CBS 7
December 4, 2014

http://m.cbs7.com/multimedia/article_15528e36-7b4a-11e4-9b4e-3bcef1a5729c.html?mode=jqm

Two Odessa pastors are arrested for not reporting a suspected child abuse case at their church to police.

Court documents show the pair conducted their own investigation rather than handing it over to police.

Police say Life Church pastors Donald and Gina Haislett knew about a sexual assault of a child case for three weeks before police were notified by someone else.

The Haisletts have bonded out of jail, but an empty parking lot and locked doors is what you'll find at their church. Our phone calls have also not been returned.

In black and white, court documents spell out the internal investigation conducted by the Haisletts.

Their three week investigation included interviews with former youth volunteer Angel De Los Santos, the man accused of sexual assault, and his wife. They also interviewed the alleged victims.

Court documents show the pair obtained text messages between De Los Santos and his vicitm, phone records and De Los Santos' computer. Not once did the pastors contact police.

Actions police say could have cost them their investigation.

“If somebody does become aware of child abuse and they don’t report it, a lot of the evidence could be destroyed,” Cpl. Steve LeSuer, OPD spokesman said.

Law states a person must report a sexual abuse case within 48-hours of learning about it.

“It’s unlawful to investigate things unless you’re a police officer,” Cpl. LeSuer said.

The Haisletts have been charged with failing to report child abuse, a class A misdemeanor.

If convicted, they could face jail time.