Bronx Pastor Pleads Guilty to Rape After DNA Evidence of Aborted Baby Links Him to Girl
Former New York pastor Michael Clare pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges that he raped two teenage girls, one of whom attended his church in the Bronx.
In 2011, Clare was accused of sexually assaulting and impregnating a then-12-year-old girl who had attended his storefront church, Harvest Worship Center International. While the girl had an abortion, investigators reportedly claimed they had been able to match his DNA with that of the baby, said The Village Voice.
Prosecutors had alleged that the abuse had lasted for nearly three years before the girl reported it to her parents.
After the initial charges, the married Clare maintained his innocence and rejected a plea deal that would have sent him to prison for two years.
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In 2012, Clare was arrested again, this time for reportedly sexually assaulting a student at the high school where he worked as a principal. According to the indictment, Clare sexually assaulted the girl at least three times between 2009 and 2011, beginning when the girl was 14 to until she turned 16.
This time he was hit with "one count each of second-degree rape, sexual misconduct, third-degree criminal sexual act, endangering the welfare of a child, and three counts of sexual abuse."
According to the 2012 indictment, "the relationship at the center of these new charges continued long after the defendant was arrested and indicted in 2010 for his alleged conduct concerning the first victim," reported ABC News.
Clare will be formally sentenced on Jan. 30. He must also register as a sex offender and under the terms of the plea deal will serve up-to five years in prison.
There is also a likelihood that the former pastor and principal will be deported back to his home country of Jamaica. In August 2012, he was accused by the feds of being in the country illegally
