A 41-year-old Santa Ana man was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting four girls he met through his ties to a Jehovah’s Witness church in Santa Ana.
Jose Luis Aguilera, who was arrested at his home on Friday, was ordered held on $1 million bail but did not enter a plea. His arraignment was rescheduled to Oct. 2.
Aguilera is accused of molesting four girls he met through the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses church in Santa Ana, where their families worship, according to Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. The girls were 9 to 12 years old, Bertagna said.
The alleged sexual assaults date back to October 2012, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. The most recent sexual assault allegedly happened in July, Bertagna said.
Police learned of the allegations after one of the girls confided in her family, Bertagna said.
Aguilera is also charged with kidnapping for driving two of the girls to Tustin and Santa Ana to sexually assault them, prosecutors allege.
Aguilera also faces seven counts of committing lewd acts on a child younger than 14 and one count of sexual penetration with a child 10 or younger, along with sentence- enhancing allegations of committing lewd acts on multiple victims.
He could face up to 130 years to life in prison if convicted.
— City News Service