Evangelical Pastor Arrested on Child Molestation Charges; Calif. Church 'Utterly Heartbroken'
A married father-of-six and evangelical pastor from California has reportedly been arrested on several counts of child molestation, leaving his church "utterly heartbroken" at the scandal.
ABC 10 News reported that 43-year-old Matthew Tague, a pastor at North Coast Calvary Chapel in Carlsbad, has been charged with at least 16 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under the age of 14.
Police are investigating the situation, Lt. Karen Stubkjaer of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said, though at the moment there is no indication that there are further victims.
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Stubkjaer further noted that the charges are not related to Tague's position at the church.
"There is a lot of information I'm not prepared to disclose right now about the victim, the relationship, and so forth. It appears this has been going on for about a year," she said.
North Coast, which describes itself as a "conservative Evangelical church," said in a statement that it is "utterly heartbroken" by the pastor's arrest.
"We ask you to please pray for the victim, as well as the family involved in this tragic matter. Please pray for law enforcement as they determine the facts. We also ask you to pray for justice and restorative healing to take place for all involved," the Facebook post read.
The church's leadership insisted that it has "strict requirements and procedures in place" when it comes to hiring pastors and staff, and maintained that Tague had no previous record of arrest or criminal charges.
"As we as a church family process this tragic event, we know that you will have questions," the church noted, promising that pastors will make information available to members.
The Daily Mail noted that Tague has been married to his wife, Kelli, for over 20 years, and that the couple have three children by birth and three adopted children.
According to his leadership biography, Tague has been a follower of Jesus Christ since his late teens. And he is "passionate about helping people see Jesus with their hearts and their heads."
"I am also passionate about Christians growing into fully formed disciples of Jesus and learning to love the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul and strength," he noted in the bio. "I am passionate about adoption, about the Bible, about basketball and about good books, but not all in that order!"
Tague's neighbors said that he appeared to be a good family man.
"They played basketball all the time outside. They road bikes, they skated, they did all kinds of things," said Lon Plourde, the family's next-door neighbor. "Very friendly, seemed like a perfect little family."
Plourde told NBC 7 that the situation is difficult to believe.
"It's very disturbing and horrible, but for it to be your next door neighbor," he remarked.
The pastor is being held at a Vista Detention Facility on $1.9 million bail, and is expected in court on Friday.
