Former youth pastor Luis Clarke was arrested for allegedly sexually battering a 15-year-old girl he met through his church in Pembroke Pines.
Clarke, 38, is charged with more than two dozen felony counts, including sexual battery of a minor and false imprisonment. He is being held in Broward’s Main Jail on $660,000 bond.
If posts bail, he has to wear a GPS monitor and he can’t have contact with the victim or other minors. News sources did not name an attorney for him.
According to the Pembroke Pines police report, the alleged sexual assault started in August 2016 when the victim was 15 years old and lasted for over six months until February 2017, when she was 16.
Clarke met the victim at the now-defunct Abrazo tu Sueno Church on 9626 Pines Boulevard, where he worked as part-time youth pastor. The church was closed down in 2018.
Clarke allegedly had almost two dozen sexual encounters with the victim at his home in the 1300 block of NW 143rd Avenue. He would pick up the victim from school and take her to his home where he would rape and molest, the victim told investigators. He also took pictures of her in the nude with his iPad, the report said.
Clarke reportedly coerced the victim into keeping their encounters secret by threatening to report her and her family’s illegal status to immigration authorities.
Clarke is also accused of making a 15-year-old boy watch him have sex with the victim. He purportedly picked them up from a park in Hollywood and took them to his home where he activated the security alarm so they couldn’t leave without his permission.
Investigators said Clarke demanded the boy watch him have sex with the victim, calling him gay and saying the victim “belongs to him.” It was the boy who reported Clarke’s alleged actions to police earlier this month.
Clarke was arrested on Thursday morning. He reportedly gave a sworn statement to police admitting to two sexual encounters with the victim. He told investigators that the boy who reported him had been to his residence, but he denied sexually assaulting the victim in front of him, according to the report.
Investigators believe there may be other victims. Captain Al Xiques of the Pembroke Pines police has released a statement encouraging anyone with information to come forward.
“We are asking any parent or guardian whose child may have come into contact with the suspect through the church or otherwise, to please speak to them regarding this matter,” Xiques said. “If there is a concern of potential wrongdoing, they are urged to contact the Pembroke Pines Police Department.”
Xiques also said that Clarke admitted to committing similar crimes involving the victim in other jurisdictions. Police in those locations have reportedly been notified.
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Source: 4.26.19 Youth pastor forced girl into sex under threat of reporting family to ICE.pdf