A 34-year-old church deacon was behind bars in Bucks County Wednesday accused of raping a 13-year-old girl entrusted in his care.
Humberto Cervantes of Coatesville met the alleged victim at a Pentecostal church in Trenton where he was a deacon, he befriended the girl’s family and even gained their trust to the point where he was allowed to pick the girl up at her elementary school, Bensalem Police first told told NBC10’s Deanna Durante.
Police say that one day Cervantes picked the girl up, she thought they were going to a park but instead he drove her to a Bensalem motel, convinced the girl to go inside a room with him and proceeded to sexually assault the child.
"The trust factor in all this was completely broken and the family is heartbroken," said Bensalem Police Sgt. Andrew Aninsman.
He also allegedly talked to the girl on the phone and texted her as well.
The girl, now 15, only recently had to strength to tell her family about the accusations.
Cervantes has connections to another Pentacostal church besides the Trenton congregation. The pastor of a Philly church on Ontario Street told NBC10 that Cervantes left his Trenton church a month ago to join the Philly congregation.
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Cervantes was arraigned Wednesday on a slew of charges including rape, statutory sexual assault, corruption of a minor and indecent assault. He was sent to Bucks County jail on $1 million bail, according to court records.
His lawyer had no comment.
