Evangelical Pastor Jhonas Borrego Charged in Táchira, Venezuela, Over Alleged Sexual Abuse of Children

Venezuelan authorities have charged evangelical pastor Jhonas Borrego, who was arrested in the state of Táchira, with sexually abusing a 9-year-old boy and three adolescents aged 12 to 15. The Public Ministry announced the charges on Tuesday. The accusations against him are allegations that have been made by authorities and have not been tested in court.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab described the case in a post on his Instagram account. He said the victims were children of members of the evangelical community and that the pastor offered “religious guidance” and used gatherings to force the children to perform sexual acts. Saab said the accused was abusing his position as pastor of a church named Columna y Baluarte de la Verdad when he abused the children of members of the congregation, who were children and adolescents.

According to the account, the case came to investigators after the mothers of two of the victims reported the events to the Scientific, Criminal and Criminalistic Investigations Corps (Cicpc) on May 26. The arrest followed that report. Mothers who brought the matter to authorities acted on behalf of children who could not protect themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Medical evaluations were carried out by experts from the National Service of Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Senamecf). Those experts determined that some of the victims showed physical signs of sexual abuse.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Spanish)