Jesse Joshua Aceves, who founded the Christian clothing brand The Way and had been active in the Christian hip-hop music scene, was convicted last month of “numerous” charges of child molestation. The 36-year-old, who was arrested in California back in 2020, has been sentenced to 35 years in a state prison.
According to police in Beaumont, California, they arrested Aceves three years ago “for numerous charges of child molestation, which had been occurring for the past 17 years.” At the time, Aceves was suspected of molesting three children, all of whom reportedly knew him. But police suspected that there might be additional victims and encouraged any to come forward.
The case began, police said, when a victim alleged that Aceves had molested her when she was between the ages of 4 and 17. A department spokesman said, “When she learned of another victim being abused by the same suspect, the two victims reported it to patrol officers and detectives became involved, at which time detectives learned about the third victim.” The convictions stemmed from sex-abuse incidents that occurred in both California and Texas, according to the spokesman.
The Way Founder Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison
In a Facebook update about their investigation, Fontana, California, police expressed gratitude “to the hard work of the detectives and the District Attorney’s office for seeing this case through.”
According to an article at Rapzilla.com, clothing from The Way brand had been in vogue with Christian hip-hop artists. In that music community, Aceves helped book musicians for concerts and other events. In return, they often wore and displayed The Way merchandise to sell. Rapzilla noted: “This is a very sad situation and hate to even report on it. Keep the victims of this terrible situation in your prayers.”
The Way doesn’t appear to have a website or social media presence. Aceves hasn’t posted anything on his Twitter account since 2017.
In our increasingly fractured world that’s just amped up with reactivity, how can we as pastors and ministry leaders create a calming presence in our churches and in our communities? In this week’s conversation on FrontStage BackStage, host Jason Daye is joined by Rich Villodas, lead pastor of New Life Fellowship in Queens, New York. Rich has written several books, including “Good and Beautiful and Kind.” Together, Rich and Jason explore nurturing a culture in our churches that provides an alternative to the mean-spiritedness and divisiveness that we see in the world all around us. Rich also shares some personal practices, including five questions, that we can reflect upon in our own lives as pastors and ministry leaders that can help us overcome reactivity and engage in conversations with people who might not believe as we do.
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