Youth Pastor Gets 6 Years For Sexually Assaulting Minors

MISSION VIEJO, CA — A Mission Viejo man — former youth pastor at Grace Hills Church in Aliso Viejo — was convicted and sentenced for sexually assaulting two underage boys.

At the time of the crimes, Brandon Emis Lee McDade was employed as youth pastor of Grace Hills Church in Aliso Viejo, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office chief of staff, Susan Kang Schroeder.

Between May of 2012 and December of 2015, McDade met the victims, who were both younger than 16, while on the church campus.

"McDade sexually assaulted the victims while they were on church property, and also molested one of the victims at an Orange County movie theater," she said.

A parent of one of the victims contacted the Orange County Sheriff's Department and reported the crime leading to McDade's arrest on Dec. 19, 2015.

After pleading not guilty in January of 2016, McDade pleaded guilty one year later on Monday and was immediately sentenced to six years in prison, Kang Schroeder said.

"He pleaded guilty to one count of committing lewd acts on a child younger than 14, two counts of committing lewd acts on a child between 14 and 15, all felonies, and a misdemeanor count of child annoyance," she said.

The former youth pastor was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, according to court documents.

The molesting happened on church grounds and with one of the victims at a movie theater in Orange County, prosecutors said.

Photo credit: Orange County Sheriff's Department