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Ex-minister here charged in rape of minor in Pa.

The Rev. David Valencia allegedly had sex with a 17-year-old girl he was counseling in 2001. The reported sexual assaults occurred over several months.

DAVID L. TEIBEL
Tucson Citizen
May 31, 2003
A Tucsonan who had been the assistant pastor of a Pentecostal church here is expected in court Wednesday on rape charges issued by Pennsylvania authorities.
The Rev. David Valencia, 47, was arrested without incident May 22 at his home, in the 2300 block of East Miraval Primero, near East Sunrise Drive and North Campbell Avenue, on charges in a Pennsylvania warrant, said Pima County sheriff's Deputy Nicole Feldt.
Deputies made the arrest at the request of Pennsylvania authorities, said Feldt, a sheriff's spokeswoman.
Valencia has been charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child and corruption of a minor, Feldt said.
The charges stem from Valencia allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old several times in his church office in Pennsylvania in 2001, police in Bellevue, Pa., said.
They said Valencia had been counseling the teen and told her not to tell anyone about their alleged encounters.
In Pennsylvania, Valencia was an assistant pastor at Christ Church at Grove Farm, an interdenominational church that uses Anglican liturgy.
The alleged sexual assaults occurred over several months in 2001.
The pastor of that church, the Rev. John Guest, an internationally known Episcopal evangelist, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Valencia was dismissed in late 2001 because he was found to have pornography on an office computer after he was warned about a similar incident months earlier.
Guest said he didn't learn of the rape allegations against Valencia until April. The church's staff has interviewed others counseled by Valencia, and no more allegations of sexual assault have surfaced, Guest said.
The teen allegedly told police her weekly counseling sessions centered on typical teen issues and began well. But Valencia eventually began complimenting her on her "good body" and asked her about sexual relationships, she told police.
Valencia allegedly molested the teen three times from May to August 2001. When she resisted at future sessions, he allegedly apologized and told her to keep the incidents secret, police said.
"The victim stated she felt compelled to allow the defendant to do these acts because if she didn't, it would cause problems with her family," police said in court documents.
Valencia took a job in Tucson in May 2002 as assistant pastor of Catalina Foothills Church, 2150 E. Orange Grove Road. Church officials dismissed Valencia on March 30 after they learned of the Pennsylvania rape allegations, the church's business manager, Jerry Potter, said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.