Youth Pastor Suspected in Multiple Rapes

Authorities arrested a 38-year-old man who as a youth pastor at a Lake Forest church allegedly sexually assaulted several women, ranging in age from their late teens to early 20s, a sheriff’s lieutenant said today.

The suspect was released this morning on a $500,000 bond. Investigators from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Unit arrested Sean Patrick Aday on Friday during a traffic stop, following several weeks of investigation that included interviews with several female victims, said Lt. Jeff Hallock of the OCSD.

In October, a female victim contacted sheriff’s investigators to report that she had been sexually assaulted by Aday while he worked as the youth pastor at Grace Community Church at 26052 Trabuco Road, Hallock said.

During the course of the investigation several other alleged victims were contacted, each indicating they had been assaulted by Aday over the course of the last several years, he said.

“The sexual assaults occurred inside the church, on church property, in various places in Orange County and during church-sponsored, international trips,” Hallock said.

Based on the allegations, Grace Community Church immediately fired Aday in October 2015. Investigators believe there might be additional victims who have yet to report their incidents. Aday was arrested on charges of rape, sodomy, penetration with a foreign object and sexual assault.

He was booked into the Orange County Jail, but was released this morning on $500,000 bond, Hallock said. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Unit asked anyone with any information regarding additional victims to call them at (714) 647-7418.

City News Service