Police: Church Youth Leader Arrested For Sexually Battering 5-Year-Old
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PEMBROKE PINES (CBSMiami) – Pembroke Pines police say Dmitri Daniels confessed to committing a sickening crime — sexually battering a young child and police say he admitted doing it on multiple occasions.
At a news conference Tuesday, Police Captain Al Xiques said Daniels arrived at the police department with his family on Monday and turned himself in.
"He had shown the victim in this case pornographic materials and in essence demonstrated or showed her what he wanted her to do," Xiques said.
Police initially called Daniels a volunteer youth pastor at Mount Pisgah Seventh Day Adventist Church in Miami Gardens.
But Eddie Guerrier, an associate pastor at the church, said Daniels never served as a volunteer youth pastor and was simply a member of the church. Later Tuesday, the police department said in a tweet that Daniels told investigators he volunteered with the church's youth group and that the church verified he's a parishioner.
The tweet added that Daniels was not a volunteer youth pastor, instead a youth leader.
Still, police say they believe Daniels role at the church put him in a position of trust and they want to know if there are any other concerns about his behavior.
"He had the opportunity be around children on a regular basis so we're asking any parents who may have attended that church with their children or who believe they may have been in contact with the suspect in the case, to please speak with their children and see if they've had any inappropriate contact with Mr. Daniels," Xiques said.
If you have any information regarding similar acts committed by Dmitri Daniels, you are urged to contact the Pembroke Pines Police Department at 954-431-2225.