East Austin Church Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Assault Charges

EAST AUSTIN, TX — An East Austin church pastor was arrested Monday on child sex assault charges stemming from Nueces and Hays counties, according to local media reports.

Ruben Garcia, 59, reportedly served as associate pastor at Betania Baptist Church, 1117 Tillery St. Department of Justice officials said in a news advisory that Garcia was arrested by members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in Buda, Texas, a town located some 16 miles south of Austin that is part of the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area.

The charges against Garcia date to 2015 when detectives at the Nueces County Sheriff's Office investigated an child assault case report in Corpus Christi, officials said. The advisory further notes that Garcia was indicted by a Hays County grand jury early last year with two counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child by sexual contact.

Garcia is now under Hays County Sheriff's Office custody under a $300,000 bail.

>>> Ruben Garcia booking photos via Hays County jail records