NEWPORT BEACH (CA)
The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
August 6, 2024
By Liz Lykins
A former children’s ministry volunteer at Vineyard Anaheim, now the Dwelling Place, has been sentenced to nearly 125 years in prison for molesting girls as young as six years old, according to local authorities.
Todd Hartman, 41, of Newport Beach, was convicted earlier this month of multiple child sex crimes, according to a press release from the District Attorney’s Office in Orange County, California.
These include four felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor under the age of 14; two felony counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration of a child 10 years or younger; two felony counts of lewd act upon a child 14 or 15; and one felony count of possession of child pornography, the district attorney’s office said.
Hartman volunteered at Vineyard Anaheim, now known as the Dwelling Place, in Anaheim, California. Hartman met many of his victims through his work at the church, according to the D.A.’s office.
The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to the Dwelling Place Church for comment but did not hear back prior to publication.
“Houses of worship should be safe havens from the evils of the world, but instead child predators transform them from a place of safety into a hunting ground for unsuspecting victims for their twisted sexual gratification,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the release.
Hartman’s various crimes occurred between 2009-2015, according to court records.
At that time, the church was still affiliated with Vineyard U.S.A., according to the D.A.’s press release. In 2022, Pastor Alan Scott removed the Vineyard Anaheim from Vineyard U.S.A., sparking controversy and a lawsuit.
Hartman’s history of abusing girls
In 2015, the Newport Beach Police Department served a search warrant at Hartman’s home and discovered he possessed hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, the press release said.
Hartman was also convicted of molesting a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old girl during a 2009 sleepover at the family home of one of the girls.
Additionally, the District Attorney’s office said that Hartman admitted to some of his crimes in 2016.
Hartman called the father of two of his victims and admitted to molesting one of the man’s daughters repeatedly. While the D.A. did not specify the dates of this abuse, it said Hartman’s assaults started when she was just six years old.
He had met the girl through his volunteer work at the church, according to the D.A.
Hartman was later convicted of molesting the girl’s younger sister, as well, and taking sexually suggestive photos of her while she sat on his lap.
Hartman was a volunteer at the church prior to 2015, according to a press release from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement that year.
Church leadership “changed Hartman’s responsibilities” because they were “concerned about him repeatedly pulling children on to his lap,” the press release said. The release did not clarify when exactly this occurred.
“No child should have the innocence of childhood robbed from them by anyone, much less someone they were led to believe they could trust,” Spritzer said.
Spritzer called Hartman a “predator who preyed on the most innocent of children.”
Despite Hartman’s 125-year sentence, he will be eligible for parole after he serves 20 years because of California’s elder parole law. The law makes felons, who are over the age of 50 and have served 20 years, eligible for parole.
Spritzer strongly criticized the “reckless and disgraceful” decisions of California legislatures that led to this law. He sympathized with the victims who will have to face the law’s “harsh reality.”
“When (Hartman) does come up for parole, we will do everything in our power as prosecutors to keep him behind bars where he undoubtedly belongs,” Spritzer said. “We will never leave the sides of our victims.”