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A Florida pastor has been arrested and accused of repeatedly molesting a child under the age of 12 for four years.
On Wednesday, Rafael Ceuvas, 53, of Jacksonville, was arrested and held in jail without bond, according to First Coast News. Authorities have charged Cuevas with several counts of sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestations against a minor.
Investigators reportedly discovered that Ceuvas had repeatedly molested a child between 2017 and June 2020, according to a police report. The victim, who was under the age of 12 for the period of the alleged abuse, told authorities that Cuevas committed the sexual assaults at several locations, including inside the church and his truck.
Police found a second possible victim during their investigation, who also accused Ceuvas of molesting her on several occasions.
Cuevas has declined to speak to investigators about the allegations.
Newsweek reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for further information.
Cuevas' arrest came on the same day that saw a retired Orange Park, Florida pastor sentenced to two decades in jail after being arrested in May 2018 for child molestation.
William Henry Randall, 76, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual battery after a young victim alleged that he had started molesting her in 2007, when she began to attend his St. Simon Baptist Church, according to News4Jax.
The unidentified victim, who was 12 years old at the time of the alleged assault, told police that Randall molested her at his church, in a van that belonged to the church and at his home.
"You destroyed my life and stole my innocence," the victim told the court. "I am at peace knowing that you will never be able to do what you did to me to anyone else's child, and I hope whatever the judge sentences you to today is compatible punishment to what you put me through over the years."
Prosecutors told the court that Randall admitted he engaged the victim in oral sex on multiple occasions but blamed her for wanting to be paid for the sexual acts. He apologized to the court for his actions.
"I am absolutely sorry to Judge Lester and the security of the court. I am absolutely sorry that—I'm a pastor, man of God. There is no reason why I should be standing before the judge in a court because of these accusations. It hurts me. I apologize to everyone and to the ... family that we're here and having to go through this," Randall said, according to News4Jax.
