San Jose Youth Pastor Acquitted of Sexual Abuse Charges

A jury acquitted a San Jose youth pastor, Brett Bymaster, of charges that he sexually abused two minors. The verdict was handed down Wednesday in a Morgan Hill courtroom, more than a year after Bymaster was arrested on charges of molesting a girl beginning when she was eight years old and continuing until she was 13. After the case went to trial, the accuser’s sister came forward with her own allegations, which were added to the charges.

In a statement, Bymaster said the jury “saw past the lies and prevented a miscarriage of justice.” He said he was ready to return to “the hard work of serving Jesus and loving our neighbors” in the downtown San Jose Washington community, and that his family continued to pray for “blessings and healing for all those involved,” including both accusers and supporters.

The lead prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Christopher Paynter, said he was disappointed by the jury’s verdicts. He told San Jose Spotlight that he respected the criminal justice process and the jury’s service, and he described the case as “difficult but righteous” on behalf of the victims. He asked that the privacy of the victims and their families be respected.

Bymaster served for five years, beginning in 2014, as a youth pastor and director at The River, on Lincoln Avenue. He is also a founder and executive director of the Healing Grove Health Center, a clinic serving low-income families. He left the church after receiving a critical job review in August 2019, based on complaints about his leadership from church families. The church launched an internal inquiry two years later. That inquiry, which included interviews with 25 individuals, concluded that Bymaster was a “toxic leader who was spiritually abusive,” and it encouraged church leaders to summarize its findings in a letter. The inquiry also questioned how the church had managed Bymaster.

Five parishioner families have said the inquiry failed to uncover the full extent of Bymaster’s alleged wrongdoing and did not address one of the most serious claims, sexual abuse. Bymaster was arrested shortly after the church announced plans for another investigation. During the trial, his attorneys, Dana Fite and Renee Hessling, argued that church families with financial motives had led the children to form false memories of abuse. Accountability for those in positions of spiritual trust, as Luke 12:48 holds out, is a standard that the church’s own review and the families’ complaints both raised.

Bymaster’s case also drew public attention last year from the area’s then-councilmember, Omar Torres, who publicly vowed to ensure that people accused of sexual abuse could not use city-run youth spaces. The following November, Torres was himself arrested on child molestation charges. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison in August.

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