The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
In December 2021, Estevan Diaz, a youth pastor at Cascade Community Church in Cascade, Idaho, was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.
The Lewiston Tribune reported:
A youth pastor at the Cascade Community Church was arrested last week for felony sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, according to Valley County court records.
Estevan Diaz, 45, was arrested Dec. 29 and charged with five counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than 16 and two counts of enticing a child through the internet, video image or other communication device.
Diaz was fired from his position at the church, Pastor Andy Wegener said.
“The church is shocked and grieved over what has happened, and we are working with all individuals who have been impacted to get them every resource available for healing,” Wegener said.The victim’s mother reported to the Valley County Sheriffs Office that there were more than 700 inappropriate texts between Diaz and her child, court records said.
Police questioned Diaz and uncovered seven incidents of sexual contact between Diaz and the victim in December, the records said.
….
Diaz had been a youth pastor at the church at 109 W. Pine St. in Cascade since July 2021.
In November 2022, Diaz pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
A former Cascade Community Church youth pastor has been convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for lewd conduct with a child under 16 years old, the Valley County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.
45-year-old Estevan Diaz must serve five years minimum in a state prison before he is eligible for parole.
The sheriff’s office said Diaz was arrested in December 2021.
The prosecutor’s office said the victim was a 13-year-old girl, and Diaz was a pastor at the time the crime was committed.
Online court records indicate prosecutors initially charged him with five counts of lewd conduct and two counts of enticing children through the internet. In a plea agreement, prosecutors moved to dismiss the enticement counts and all but one of the lewd conduct counts.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Connect with me on social media:
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.
