Pastor Charged With 11 Counts Of Child Molestation

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — After a lengthy investigation, a Fullerton former pastor was arrested and charged with multiple counts of child molestation, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said.

John Rodgers McFarland, 67, of Fullerton, served as head pastor at several Southern California churches. He faces 11 child molestation charges for victimizing seven children, ranging in age from age 5- to 15-years-old, according to the complaint.

McFarland was arrested on May 9 and has been charged with seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under the age of 14, and four felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor between the ages of 14 and 15.

Prosecutors allege the molestations for the current offenses occurred between 2003 and 2017.

McFarland is currently being held on $2 million bail at the Orange County Jail. He faces a maximum sentence of 179 years to life if convicted on all counts, the OCDA's office said.

"McFarland has been the head pastor at Orangethorpe United Methodist Church in Fullerton since 2016,"OCDA He also served as a volunteer chaplain for the Fountain Valley Police Department and Fountain Valley Fire Department.

In December of 2018 he was arrested by the Escondido Police Department stemming from the alleged abuse of "at least one minor female," Fountain Valley Police reported at that time.

The alleged molestation occurred when he was visiting relatives, said Lt. Chris Lick of the Escondido Police Department.

McFarland is due in court in San Diego June 18 for a pretrial hearing and July 9 for a preliminary hearing, according to Tanya Sierra, a spokeswoman for the D.A.'s office in San Diego County.
"We are still determining the outcome of our case in light of the Orange County charges," Sierra said.

Orangethorpe church officials said they would not comment on the status of McFarland, who has also served as a volunteer chaplain for Fountain Valley police and firefighters.

According to an online biography, McFarland grew up in North San Diego County, and his first appointment as senior pastor was at Calexico United Methodist Church in Calexico, where he served from 1981 to 1988.

He graduated from the University of La Verne in 1974 and the Pacific School of Religion in 1978, according to his biography. McFarland was a pastor at Surf City Church in Huntington Beach between 2011 and 2016, and served as senior pastor at Fountain Valley United Methodist Church for 26 years from 1988 to 2016. He served as a youth pastor at the San Dieguito Methodist Church in Encinitas from 1978 to 1981 and attended Christian Youth Camps during his ministry there.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on May 13, 2019 in Department CJ-1.

Deputy District Attorney Ann Fawaz of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.

Read also:

Pastor Arrested In Escondido For Alleged Child Molestation

City News Service contributed to this report.