| For Immediate Release Case # 07NF0294 November 9, 2007 |
Contact: Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486 |
MARRIED PASTOR OUT ON BAIL FOR HAVING UNLAWFUL SEX WITH 16-YEAR-OLD GIRL CHARGED WITH VIOLATING PROTECTIVE ORDER TO MEET WITH VICTIM
FULLERTON – A married pastor charged last year with having sex in his church office with a 16-year-old female parishioner faces additional charges today for violating a protective order for meeting the underage victim while out on bail. Ronald Hernandez Tovar, 57, Placentia, has been charged with two counts of disobeying a court order and his bail has been increased from $150,000 to $750,000. Tovar was initially charged with three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, oral copulation of a minor, and sexual penetration by foreign object of a minor. If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years and eight months in prison. The defendant is scheduled to face trial on December 24, 2007 at 8:30 a.m. in Department N-13 at the North Justice Center in Fullerton.
Between August 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006, Tovar is accused of having unlawful sex with a 16-year-old parishioner. He is accused of having unlawful sex with the girl on multiple occasions in different locations, including his church office in Anaheim Hills. Tovar is a pastor at The Shadow of the Almighty church in Stanton.
Between July 23, 2007 and July 30, 2007, Tovar, who was out on $100,000 bail, is accused of violating a Court protective order and meeting with the victim at a bus stop. A friend of the victim’s mother witnessed the defendant and the victim together, which was later reported to the police. Tovar was charged with the first violation of a protective order and bail was increased to $150,000.
On November 6, 2007, following the completion of a preliminary hearing, Tovar is accused of driving to Montclair in San Bernardino County and meeting the victim, who is still a minor, in a church parking lot. He is accused of driving with the victim to her residence in Montclair, where he was apprehended by Anaheim police officers who had covertly followed him to the home. Tovar was charged today with the second violation of a protective order and bail was increased from $150,000 to $750,000.
“Mr. Tovar has shown a complete disregard for the authority and orders of the Court,” said Deputy District Attorney Drew Haughton of the Sexual Assault Unit, who is prosecuting this case. “The additional charges and increase in bail are necessary as this defendant’s behavior poses a continued substantial risk to the community and the safety of the victim.”
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