A Southern California pastor is out on a $500,000 bond after being arrested and charged with several child sex abuse offenses. Juan Barrios, 51, has been accused of abusing two underaged boys at his home in Riverside over the course of several years.
Barrios had been serving as pastor of Iglesia De Dios Israelita in Fullerton, California, a small, Spanish-speaking congregation.
ChurchLeaders has reached out to Iglesia De Dios Israelita for comment and will update this article in the event of a response.
Barrios was arrested on Sept. 8 following a months-long investigation conducted by the Riverside Police Department. He was booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center and later released on bond.
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Barrios has been accused of sexually abusing two brothers between 2009 and 2015 while the boys’ family was staying at Barrios’ home. Barrios was the family’s pastor.
One of the boys reported Barrios’ alleged abuse in May, claiming that Barrios began abusing him when he was nine years old and that the abuse continued until the boy was in his mid-teens.
The victim’s younger brother came forward with similar claims.
According to KTLA, detectives believe that other victims may exist but have not yet come forward.
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Authorities are asking anyone with additional information to contact Officer Kimberly Coronado at (951) 353-7949 or KCoronado@RiversideCA.gov, or Detective Christian Wilcox at (951) 353-7133 or CWilcox@RiversideCA.gov.
