Officials have revealed that a Glendale pastor who’s accused of sexually assaulting a minor at a Covina hotel turned himself into authorities on Sunday and was later released on bail.
Identified as Douglas Rivera, the 40-year-old Baldwin Park resident, was accompanied by his attorney when he surrendered to the Covina Police Department about 11 a.m.
The police booked him on sexual assault, indecent exposure and burglary charges at the Covina jail as detectives waited to interview him. However, the police spokesman later said the suspect declined to submit to such an interview, based on the advice of his attorney.
The Los Angeles County sheriff's inmate records show that he was subsequently released on $100,000 bail. There are reports indicating that the pastor was seen exiting the Covina jail Sunday afternoon and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 14.
A surveillance footage caught Rivera lurking outside of a hotel room in Covina touching himself and watching two young girls, who police said are between the ages of 10 and 12, alone inside a room. That’s when he forced his way into the room and assaulted one of the girls. This comes after he released a video on Friday in which claimed that he had been "at the wrong place at the wrong time." "I did not do nothing wrong … Something happened in that hotel, and that's the simple answer," he says in the video.
The authorities believe that Rivera was with family or staying with his attorney during the time he was on the run. Authorities have said they’re concerned about the safety of the community even as Rivera maintains his innocence. "There is a public safety concern that we have and, obviously, we hope that with his face being out in the public now, people will be aware of him," said Covina PD Sgt. Ray Marquez
Source: http://abc13.com/pastor-accused-in-sex-assault-of-minor-turns-self-in/3068551/
