Former California pastor sentenced to prison for child molestation
(The AEGIS Alliance) – A former pastor who worked for nearly 30 years at varied California church buildings has been sentenced to fifteen years to life behind bars after pleading guilty to a number of felony charges of lewd and lascivious acts with minors.
68-years-old John Rodgers McFarland molested seven underage girls between 2003 and 2017, a May 2019 complaint filed by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office that the Los Angeles Times obtained reads.
He was arrested for the first time in December 2018 and charged with two felony counts of molesting a girl below the age of 14, then once more in May 2019 after investigators identified more victims. The girls ranged from ages five to fifteen.
McFarland initially pleaded not guilty in 2019 before reversing course just last week. Beyond his concurrent sentences, he is ordered to pay an undisclosed amount in restitution, be tested for HIV/AIDS, and take part in an AIDS prevention program.
Before his arrest, McFarland had been working as the top pastor at Orangethorpe United Methodist Church in Fullerton since 2016. He additionally served as a volunteer chaplain for the Fountain Valley Police Department and Fountain Valley Fire Department, the district attorney’s office said.
He previously worked at Surf City Church, Fountain Valley United Methodist Church, Calexico United Methodist Church, and San Dieguito Methodist Church, where he additionally attended Christian Youth Camps.
Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
