SAN YSIDRO, Calif. (KGTV) — A pastor at Victory Outreach Church in San Ysidro was charged with failing to report a suspected sexual assault against a teen, according to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office.
Eric Manuel Merino, 43, appeared in San Diego Superior Court Thursday morning on one misdemeanor count, the DA's Office says.
Merino faces the charge because he failed to report the church choir leader's sexual abuse of a teenager, which happened in 2021, the press release states. Merino was a legally mandated reporter, and he had knowledge of the sexual assault, but he failed to notify police or child welfare services, the DA alleges.
Rafael Valentin Magana, 27, is the choir leader in question, and he was convicted in April of one felony count of a lewd act upon a child aged 14 or 15, the press release states.
10News reported the sexual assault in Aug. 2023, when Magana was initially arrested. The victim did not report the abuse, which happened after they attended a baby shower with other church attendees, until March 1, 2023, "due to a confluence of factors," the San Diego Police Department said at the time.
The SDPD Sex Crimes Unit's investigation identified Magana as the suspect. The court set Magana's sentencing hearing for June 18, and he faces up to three years in prison. He will have to register as a sex offender, the DA's Office says.
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DA Summer Stephan says minors in San Diego County deserve to have a safe environment, free of sexual or physical abuse, at their schools and churches.
"When that kind of abuse does happen, it's critical that those incidents don't fall through the cracks and that the people in positions of authority follow their duty to report suspected abuse so victims can be supported, and abusers can be held responsible for their crimes," Stephan says. "Following the law of mandated reporting can potentially protect another child from being sexually abused by the perpetrator."
The DA's Office says California law requires that people in certain positions, known as mandated reporters, must report any suspected cases of child sexual abuse. Among those professionals are clergy members, teachers, doctors, social workers, police officers and other professionals who regularly work with children.
"Under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), these mandated reporters are legally required to report their suspicions to child protective services or law enforcement immediately, and they must submit a written report within 36 hours," the release states.
If Merino is convicted, he faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
