A leader of an evangelical community in Terrassa is being investigated for sexual assaults on minors

BarcelonaTwo young people have reported a leader and monitor of an evangelical religious community in Terrassa, the Samaria Church, for allegedly having sexually assaulted them when they were minors. The complaint that has been made The Newspaper The ARA has had access to the information, which is also directed against another member of the same religious community, who allegedly sexually assaulted them when he was still a minor.

The city's 4th Court of Instruction is already investigating the case after accepting the complaint filed by the lawyer Mònica Santiago, from the Vosseler Advocats law firm. The crimes attributed to the member of the community who was a minor at the time have been referred to the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office. For now, the complaint of these two young men, who are now 26 and 28 years old, is being investigated, although sources from the firm indicate that there could be more victims. In fact, the complaint warns of the "very serious manipulation" of the religious organization, which they claim took advantage of parishioners to profit financially by demanding "exorbitant amounts" from them.

According to the complaint, the monitor, AAR, was in charge of organizing the artistic performances of the religious community, usually with the youngest, and took advantage of his position to take minors to his house. There, he allegedly forced them to have sexual relations with the threat of expelling them from the community or accusing them if they reported him.

Constant manipulation and harassment

One of the complainants explained that he suffered sexual assault and harassment since 2013, when he was 15 years old. At that time he did not tell anyone for fear of not being believed and fearing being expelled from the congregation, to which he belonged since birth. The complaint describes a "constant manipulation strategy" in which AAR harassed the teenager, in person and also on social media, a "persecution that was constant" for years.

In 2019, the young man told one of the leaders of the Samaria Church, who is also the daughter of the community pastor. He showed her photos and sexual messages that AAR had sent him, and she called a meeting that was also attended by the monitor, a police officer linked to the management of the congregation and the complainant.

Acknowledgement of the assaults

According to the complaint, at the meeting the monitor acknowledged the abuse and sexual harassment of the young man, but asked him not to report him "because the community management knew nothing and a report could put the Samaria Church in trouble." The accusation also states that the agent "omitted the facts to the authorities and remained silent until now" and that AAR continued as the leader and monitor of the congregation despite the fact that the management team allegedly knew about the assaults.

The second complainant was eight years old when, in 2008, he was allegedly sexually assaulted several times by another minor who lived in the congregation and who was then 16 years old. The assaults allegedly occurred on the premises of the Samaria Church itself. Later, when he was already 15 years old, the young man joined the community's artistic performance group, which was still led by AAR and who allegedly sexually assaulted him again.

Following the publication of the case, another evangelical community in Terrassa has announced that it will request to bring a popular accusation against the case. This is the United Evangelical Church, which has condemned the events in a statement: "They do not represent the Protestant community in Terrassa. Our church has always worked to promote respect, justice and care for people."