Sunday, August 19, 2007

Pastor charged with soliciting minor

In the land of the insincerely pious, another pastor stands accused of attempting to solicit a 15-year-old girl for sex. Oh, and he is alleged to have used his web cam to expose himself.

Leroy Ruedas Cruz, 50, was in the Denton jail Friday in lieu of $20,000 bail on charges of online solicitation of a minor with intent for sexual contact and online solicitation of a minor with a sexually explicit image sent with the intent to arouse.

Police documents show he is the pastor of the Grace Fellowship Church in Arlington. He could not be reached for comment.

Denton Detective Sgt. Scott Jenkins said a detective on Thursday entered a chat room posing as a girl and waited to be contacted by someone. Almost immediately, the officer received an instant message from Mr. Cruz asking for age, sex and marital status information, said Sgt. Jenkins, who oversees detectives who investigate crimes against children.

There must be something in the water in Texas.