Case # 17HF0707
Date: August 23, 2018
YOUTH MINISTRY MENTOR CONVICTED OF COMMITTING LEWD ACTS ON TWO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL BOYS
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A youth ministry mentor was convicted yesterday of committing lewd acts on two junior high school boys.
|
Defendant |
Charges |
Maximum Sentence |
Court Date |
|
Ruven Meulenberg, 33, Lake Forest |
Found guilty by a jury on Aug. 22, 2018, of the following felony counts:
|
12 years and six months in state prison |
Sentencing Oct. 5, 2018, 8:30 a.m. Department C-38, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana |
Circumstances of the Case
- At the time of the crime, Meulenberg was a volunteer youth mentor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest in a position of trust with access to children.
- Between May 2016 and May 2017, Meulenberg committed lewd acts on 13-year-old John Doe 1.
- On May 22, 2017, the defendant sexually molested John Doe 1 and John Doe 2, who were then 14 years old.
- On May 24, 2017, a Saddleback Church representative reported suspected inappropriate conduct to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), who investigated this case.
- Meulenberg was arrested by OCSD on Thursday, May 25, 2017.
Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney Courtney Thom, Sexual Assault Unit