A church has been rocked after its pastor has been removed due to allegations of very serious misconduct
in a case involving inappropriate
behaviour with
underage girls.
Virginia’s
Richmond Outreach Center (ROC) saw the loss of senior pastor Geronimo
Aguilar, who resigned after the allegations surfaced, creating a gap in
leadership that lasted four months. Known as “Pastor G,”
Aguilar was
charged with seven
felonies in the incident, which allegedly took place all the way back in 1996, before his church was founded in 2001.
If
he is convicted, the pastor may face life in prison. Even worse, the
church found out later about several extramarital affairs
that took place within the church during the pastor’s time in leadership.
“After our former pastor was arrested related to charges in Texas, the
board of directors became aware of his multiple extramarital affairs with members of our church and community,” the
statement said. “This biblically disqualified him from the office of pastor and leadership of the ROC in any capacity. The board of directors is committed to providing godly leadership at all levels of ministry.”
Several
women have come forward to accuse the pastor of sexual assault. One
woman said that she was with him when she was 18. The pastor is married
with five children. The woman says that the pastor took the girl, her
sixteen year old sister, and two other young girls to a
timeshare when his wife was out of town.
“He
brought us alcohol, we got drunk and the rest is history,” Baker said.
“I had just turned 18. We had sex. It was wrong. Just because it is not
illegal doesn’t mean it is not wrong, and he was my pastor. I moved to
Richmond to serve God.”
The woman also says that the pastor was intimately involved with both her mother and aunt.
The church has hired two interim pastors to fill the void. They are now officially searching for a new spiritual leader.
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