VIRGINIA
RichmondTimes-Dispatch
BY LOUIS LLOVIO
Richmond Times-Dispatch
RICHMOND — The former senior pastor of the Richmond Outreach Center said he made the decision to leave the church he founded in 2001 because the sexual assault charges he faces in Texas have become a distraction to ROC’s ministry.
Geronimo Aguilar, in his first public statements since being arrested last month for the sexual assault of two young girls in Texas, also said he would remain in Richmond while free on bond.
“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. 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,” Aguilar wrote in a letter to church members posted on the ROC’s website today.
Aguilar, who had been on paid leave, said he made the decision last week “after much prayer and wise counsel from a dear friend.”
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