CALIFORNIA
KTLA
An associate pastor suspected of sexually abusing female parishioners at a Norwalk church over the course of nearly eight years was behind bars Thursday.
Jorge Juan Castro, 53, was booked on suspicion of rape, oral copulation and penetration by a foreign object following his Sept. 13 arrest, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Castro, who worked as an associate pastor and counselor at the Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk, allegedly assaulted the women from October 2004 through September 2012.
Many of the victims were Spanish-speaking undocumented immigrants who Castro allegedly threatened with deportation and public embarrassment, according to the sheriff’s department.
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