A 51-year-old former church pastor suspected of sexually abusing two brothers between 2009 and 2015 while their family was living with the cleric at his Riverside home was taken into custody, police said Thursday.
Detectives received a report from one of the alleged victims in late May, detailing allegations of sexual misconduct by the suspect starting when the victim was 9 years old and continuing into his mid-teenage years, according to the Riverside Police Department.
The victim’s younger brother also reported similar alleged actions by the same suspect, who was once their pastor at Iglesia de Dios Israelita in Fullerton, police said. Detectives later identified the suspect as Juan Barrios, who was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of multiple sexual abuse offenses and was being held in lieu of $500,000.
Police said Barrios might have committed other offenses, but no additional victims have come forward.
Anyone with information regarding the alleged crimes or other possible additional victims wanting to come forward can contact Officer Kimberly Coronado at 951-353-7949 or KCoronado@RiversideCA.gov, or Detective Christian Wilcox at 951-353-7133 or CWilcox@RiversideCA.gov.