Sexual assault victim takes Carrollton church to court in connection to years of abuse: "This church was supposed to be a refuge"
Warning: The article contains graphic details from a sexual assault victim about the person who assaulted him. The criminal descriptions may be offensive to some readers.
CARROLLTON — Louis Vasquez went through years of sexual assault, but he said his mind did not recognize it until he sought help.
"I feel really embarrassed to say this, but I didn't have an understanding that I was raped until I was like in my mid-20s," Vasquez said. "Wasn't until I started going to therapy and I had a full understanding that I was abused."
The degree to which the 32-year-old Dallas native describes his ordeal may beg the question of how the physical and mental were not in sync about the occurrences. But he said comprehending the depth of manipulation, betrayal and pain took time.
Vasquez said he used to love going to church, but his suffering at the hands of Julio Cesar Pineda changed that. Moreover, he alleges his church leadership failed him when he was in crisis.
"This church was supposed to be a refuge, a place of kindness, love. 'We embrace, accept, love everyone.' That was not my experience at all," he said.
According to Vasquez, his mother moved him and a younger relative to Carrollton after leaving an abusive relationship. It was their reset. They started attending church Minsterios Bethania USA. Vasquez said he was around 10 years old.
"It was nice when I would sit with my mom on a Sunday service," he said. "It was really nice when we would serve together as a family."
Vasquez said his family was assigned to Pineda, one of the church's "12".
The 12 is a template from Jesus Christ's 12 disciples in Christianity. Ministerio Bethania USA did not confirm Pineda's position or association with the church. Arrest documents confirm he met Vasquez and his family at the facility.
Arrest affidavits also reveal Pineda was a maintenance technician at the apartment complex where the family lived. Vasquez said that his mother worked hard to support him and a young relative, Pineda became a fixture in their lives.
Court documents revealed Pineda became like an uncle. However, investigators said the man started doing things no adult and no family member should do. Vasquez said Pineda started giving him lessons about how to put on a condom and started showing him pornography.
"This isn't like in school where you have your parents sign like, 'Hey, this is everything that we're going to be going through.' It's nothing like that," Vasquez said.
He said Pineda was able to use his mother's time at work to his advantage: taking out an erect penis. That, Vasquez said, would evolve into oral and anal sex.
Arrest documents reveal he would take young Vasquez to the apartment complex's model apartment. The sexual assault victim said he always remembered Pineda wearing white underwear as he was groomed for routine acts with Pineda.
A document said one act was so painful that Pineda cried and apologized. But it didn't stop him.
"He raped me almost every day, and if it wasn't rape, it was oral sex, and if it wasn't oral sex, it was something else," Vasquez said. "I can't tell you the exact number but let's make it Sunday through Friday because at least Saturdays my mom was home all day because she didn't have to work."
The arrest document also shows Pineda started indecent behavior with Vasquez's young relative. Investigators said he took the child to a bathroom where Pineda said it was preparation for the youngster's future spouse.
Vasquez said church became no barrier for Pineda, who he said came to their apartment after preaching Thursday night service and sexually assaulted him on the floor.
"There was one time where he preached a service, the service was still going on, and the worship team then picked up playing instruments," Vasquez said. "He took me in his car, he had me perform oral sex, and then we went right back into the building, and then he wrapped up the service."
On September 14, 2014, Vasquez went to the Carrollton Police Department to report Pineda at the advice of his therapist.
Denton County felony prosecutor Michael Dickens said "late outcries" are not uncommon. They sought indictments on aggravated sexual assault of a child, sexual assault of a child, and indecency with a child sexual contact.
Affidavits said a Carrollton police detective asked Vasquez to share the most traumatizing assaults he could remember. He had multiple instances, police said. The document said the detective selected seven to arrest Pineda on.
Per court files, the investigation focused on 2005-2009, when Vasquez was between the ages of 11-16 years old. But the victim and his attorney, Blerim Elmazi, said Vasquez was 10-17 years old throughout the instances, tried and untried.
The ones the police did not pursue are the ones they believe the church bears liability.
Vasquez said a youth pastor at the church got him a meeting with the leader of Carrollton's Ministerios Bethania, Victor Higueros,. to talk about Pineda. But Vasquez said he walked out of the meeting facing punishment, not assistance.
"And this isn't just about money, this is about holding abusers accountable and holding people accountable for not speaking out when they were confronted with these facts of abuse," Elmazi said.
Vasquez is suing his former church for allegedly not responding to an outcry, calling it gross negligence of a sexually abused child among a list of allegations in the lawsuit.
"Part of that process will be sort of uncovering the veil of secrecy that we believe surrounds this church," Elmazi said. "We know there have been multiple instances of abuse at this church."
In February 2022, Luis Escobar and Alvaro Jiminez were arrested for aggravated sexual assault of a child after a 14-year-old girl told a school counselor the two Ministerios Bethania staffers had sexually assaulted her.
The men took plea deals for their crimes. Escobar was deported. Jimenez is still serving time in a Texas prison.
Police and church members assured the public the crimes did not happen on church grounds; Vasquez said Pineda made him perform acts in the church's bathroom and a list of other locations at the church
Pineda also agreed to a plea deal to serve eight years per count concurrently for two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, one count of sexual assault of a child, and an indecency charge with credit for time served.
The 54-year-old is a sexually violent predator, too dangerous to be released. He was committed under Chapter 841 of the state's Health and Safety Code, designed explicitly for involuntary and long-term treatment for such offenders.
Pineda was sentenced to the Texas Civil Commitment Center in Littlefield on February 27, 2020. He will be there unless a court releases him. CBS News Texas sent Pineda a letter requesting an interview to get his side of the story. So far, he has not responded.
There are other claims about other victims documented in Pineda's appeal, like when he played matchmaker with Vasquez's mother and connected her to a man she had a romantic relationship with. Court documents show Pineda was also having a sexual relationship with that man.
A judge pointed out Pineda was ministering to a household where he had sexual contact with everyone but the mother.
CBS News Texas also reached out to reached out to Higueros. He told us by phone that he'd love to speak, but his legal team told him not to.
CBS News Texas also sent them two emails to verify Pineda's position, find out if Higueros had any knowledge of Vasquez's claims, whether Pineda's arrest and conviction were the first Higueros had heard of the abuse, how the multiple instances impacted the church, and what Minsterios Bethania has done to protect its members. They have not responded.
Vasquez said he was once more afraid of his church leaders than of sexual assault. Now, the survivor said he's found his voice.
"It's sexual abuse, and it's wrong, and it's a crime, and people need to be held accountable," Vasquez said.
