Geronimo Aguilar, ex-megachurch pastor, found guilty of sexual assault

Christianity Today/June 29, 2015

By Czarina Ong

Former megachurch pastor Geronimo Aguilar, 45, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting his two sisters almost 20 years ago, who were only 13 and 11 years old at the time, according to the District Attorney's office in Fort Worth, Texas.

He is now in court custody and faces potential life sentences for the two felonies.

Aguilar, who founded the Richmond Outreach Center (ROC) in Richmond, Virginia, stepped down from the megachurch in 2013 after being charged with aggravated sexual assault. He has vehemently denied the claims made against him, a Charisma News report said.

He was charged with two felonies carrying life sentences, while four other counts have maximum sentences of 20 years. Aguilar was convicted on all seven counts slapped against him, including two counts of aggravated sexual assault on a child, three counts of sexual assault of a child under 17, and two counts of indecency with a child.
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Aguilar denied all the allegations against him athough he confessed to affairs with other women.

During his trial, Aguilar's wife Samantha testified that his affairs were "emotionally draining," and that he slept with her sister-in-law, a CBS TV report said. "I didn't want the details. I still don't want the details," Samantha Aguilar said to the Star Telegram. "I don't want to have to keep going through it."

Before the conviction, the former megachurch pastor said he was "very surprised" when his alleged victims, who are now adults, made the accusations. He described the act as "extremely hurtful."

"No, absolutely not, absolutely not," Aguilar told WTVR about the allegations. "There's obviously going to be some people who judge you from the 30 minutes they see you on television or what they hear in the news. But the people who really matter—the people who I want to love me—love me and believe the best, and those are the ones I focus on."

Aguilar said his family suffered because of the things that were said about him.

Meanwhile, Aguilar's attorney Thomas Pavlinic lamented that the evidence that could back Aguilar up and the witnesses that could have testified in his behalf are no longer there because of the timing of the case.

"People are trying to recall things that happened almost 20 years ago," Pavlinic said, according to the Star Telegram. "Presidents engage in extramarital affairs, but that does not make them child molesters. You may not like his moral stance and you may not like what he did, but that's no indication of his guilt," the lawyer said.

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