The former pastor of a Brentwood church pleaded guilty in federal court today to sexual exploitation of a child.
Jose Saez, Jr., 29, who previously served as pastor of Iglesia Cristiana Alumbranda El Camino Church, faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison when sentenced.
The guilty plea, which took place before U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack in Central Islip, was jointly announced by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, John J. Durham, and FBI New York Field Office Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Leslie R. Backschies.
“The defendant’s sexual exploitation of minors, both in person and online, is horrific, and he now faces at least 15 years in prison for his unspeakable crimes,” Durham stated. “That he held a position of trust and responsibility as a pastor of a local church makes his conduct even more reprehensible.”
Durham acknowledged the Suffolk County Police Department for their assistance in the case.
“The defendant not only admitted to sexually abusing young children, but also discussed his church and his congregants as targets of additional abuse,” Backschies stated in the plea announcement. “His sustained exploitation of children — in person and online — is clear, and this plea is a step forward on the road to justice for his victims.”
Court documents revealed that Saez used an encrypted messaging service to engage in sexually explicit conversations with minors and with an undercover law enforcement officer, authorities said. During online conversations in August 2023, Saez told the undercover officer that he had sexually abused an infant and that his “sweet spot” was molesting children between 11 and 15 years old and that he was able to find his younger victims at “church,” authorities said.
Following a court-authorized search, FBI agents recovered numerous images and videos of child pornography that Saez had solicited from minors, authorities said. The former pastor also admitted to law enforcement, prosecutors said, that he had encouraged a minor to produce child pornography and send it to him.
Saez’s case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project coordinates federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children online, as well as to identify and rescue victims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Top photo: Former pastor, Jose Saez, Jr. (Source: FBI)
