CALIFORNIA
Santa Maria Times
April Charlton acharlton@leecentralcoastnews.com
A Santa Maria youth pastor and aspiring Christian rapper charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl numerous times pleaded guilty Monday and will be sentenced to eight years in state prison for his crimes.
Daniel James Moreno, 25, pleaded guilty to a single count of continuous sexual abuse of a child and a count of lewd and lascivious acts with a child, according to prosecuting attorney Brandon Jebens.
Moreno must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he’s eligible for parole. Both counts also are “strikes,” meaning if he ever were to commit another serious felony and be convicted of a “strikeable” offense, he would automatically face life in prison without parole.
He was arrested at his home in the early hours of March 28 on suspicion of the continual sexual abuse and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail, where he remains in custody. Prosecutors believe Moreno started having sex with the 14-year-old girl in September 2015.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.