CHURCH OPEN, BUT EMPTY AFTER ARREST.Byline: SUSAN ABRAM Staff Writer SUNLAND -- The Leolang Avenue church where Joseph Gary Joseph E. Gary (July 9, 1821 – October 31, 1906) was judge who presided over the trial of eight anarchists tried for their alleged role in the Haymarket Riot. Born in Potsdam, New York, USA, he worked as a carpenter, then moved to St. Louis in 1843 to study law. Torres preached remained open but empty Monday, days after police arrested him on suspicion of sexually abusing two girls, one of them for six years. Police say the 46-year-old pastor of Iglesia Bautista Reforma, a Reformed Baptist The name Reformed Baptist does not refer to a distinct Christian denomination, but instead is a description of the church's theological leaning. Not all churches that are reformed in doctrine identify themselves as such. church, was arrested at his parents' home in El Monte El Monte (ĕl mŏn`tē), city (1990 pop. 106,209), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1912. A residential, industrial, and commercial city in the San Gabriel Valley, El Monte manufactures furniture, electronic equipment, semiconductors, after a parishioner said Torres had sexually abused his two daughters. Torres' son, a minor, also was arrested and was later released to his mother's custody, police said. The preacher met the two girls through his church, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Police said that abuse of one girl began in July 2000 when she was 12 and that abuse of her sister began last year when the second girl was 14. ``We're getting a lot of calls by everybody who has heard about it, and everybody is in shock,'' said Debbi Fullington, a business administrator for Sunland Neighborhood Church. Torres' congregation rented space from Sunland Neighborhood Church for 20 years before moving to the Leolang Avenue building. Fullington said she was uncomfortable speaking about Torres. ``It's all still too raw,'' she said. ``Our ministries didn't intersect.'' Torres is charged with 11 counts of molestation molestation n. the crime of sexual acts with children up to the age of 18, including touching of private parts, exposure of genitalia, taking of pornographic pictures, rape, inducement of sexual acts with the molester or with other children, and variations of these , including continuous sexual abuse, oral copulation copulation /cop·u·la·tion/ (kop?u-la´shun) sexual union; the transfer of the sperm from male to female; usually applied to the mating process in nonhuman animals. cop·u·la·tion n. 1. and sodomy sodomy Noncoital carnal copulation. Sodomy is a crime in some jurisdictions. Some sodomy laws, particularly in Middle Eastern countries and those jurisdictions observing Shari'ah law, provide penalties as severe as life imprisonment for homosexual intercourse, even if the by force. He is being held on $2 million bail and is expected to be arraigned Oct. 5. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison. Police believe there could be more victims. Anyone with information can call the Los Angeles Police Department's Sexually Exploited Child Unit at (213) 485-2883. susan.abram(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3664 |
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