A Menlo Park pastor pleaded not guilty Tuesday to multiple sex assault charges involving teenage girls.
Ever Oliveros-Cano, 50, from East Palo Alto, who also went by the name Victor Elizandro Tax-Gomez, was recently returned to the custody of San Mateo County by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which alleges he immigrated to the U.S. illegally. ICE agents had picked him up June 2 when he was released on bail by the county.
He was returned to county custody after the court agreed with the prosecution’s request to increase his bail to $250,000 from $100,000, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Wagstaffe said that if Oliveros-Cano does manage to post bail, he would return to ICE custody because the agency has acquired a judicial hold on him.
Oliveros-Cano, a pastor at the El Senor Justicia Nuestra church on Chilco Street in Menlo Park, is accused of sexually molesting or assaulting three teenage girls between September 2011 and May 2015 while “claiming to be praying with or cleansing the victims,” Wagstaffe said.
“It’s always a more egregious offense when one takes advantage of a position of trust,” Wagstaffe said. “That’s a very significant violation.”
Defense attorney William Daley said his client “absolutely denies the charges and in due course we expect a successful outcome.”
Menlo Park police recently learned of the allegation after receiving a call from a therapist who had spoken to one of the alleged victims.
The victims were two sisters and a friend, who were 13, 15, and 17 at the time of the alleged assaults, according to prosecutors.
The assaults allegedly took place at the church office and a small house next to the Greater Friendship Baptist Church in the 1300 block of Chilco Street in Menlo Park, where the El Senor Justicia Nuestra Church leased space.
Wagstaffe said that because of the nature of the alleged crimes and the number of alleged victims he plans to ask for a harsh sentence. Oliveros-Cano has been charged with seven felonies: several counts of digital penetration in addition to sexual battery and child molestation.
In July 2003, Oliveros-Cano was arrested by border patrol agents from ICE after he attempted to illegally enter the U.S., according to James Schwab, a spokesperson for the agency.
If he is found guilty of the charges, he would be expected to serve the imposed sentence and then be returned to ICE.
Oliveros-Cano is being held on $250,000 bail. He’s scheduled to return to court Aug. 8.
The guy is in the country illegally and he is molesting kids. what a wonderful addition to the community. people who are comfortable breaking one law are often comfortable breaking other laws as well. for far too long, democrats have looked at immigrants as cheap votes and republicans have tolerated them as cheap labor to suppress wages. its is the middle class which always suffers from the resulting crime and low wages. look, everyone has a right to better their lives but that cannot be the only reason to let people in without proper vetting. otherwise we will have 6 billion people land on america shores tomorrow. sorry but it is time to get tough on immigration.